So you’re scrolling through Craigslist looking for your next abode when you see the title, “1BR Apt, on the Red Line, ALL Utilities Included”.  What does that actually mean?

We called around to a few communities to get the details about what you can expect in an ‘all utilities included’ apartment.

Here’s what you need to know about apartments with all utilities included:

First of all, ‘all utilities’ should read as ‘all necessary utilities’, namely Gas, electric, water, and sewer.   It virtually never includes cable, phone, or internet. So why do they say ‘all’? Landlords are looking at it as utilities that make the apartment functional and habitable. Cable, phone, and the internet are still considered luxuries, not necessities.

Next, fully expect that you probably will not have full control over the climate of your apartment. Typically, one of the reasons an apartment is “all utilities included” is because the heating or cooling system operates through a building system rather than individual units. So, in the case of DC buildings, often they were built with a central boiler for heat. {You can ID this quickly by the presence of a radiator in your apartment.} When the building turns on the furnace, you will be getting heat in your apartment until the landlord determines the weather is consistently warm enough outside to turn it off.

We’ve seen plenty of complaints and reviews about ‘careless landlords’ because there will be one or two random hot days in March and the building heat is still on…Know that it’s not easy to turn these boilers on and off…so the landlord won’t be inclined to do so until they are entirely sure the warm weather is here to stay. The same is true at the end of the summer/beginning of fall. You may have one frigid night….that doesn’t warrant the boiler getting turned on, especially if the next day temperatures will be back in the high 70’s. So, be ready to adapt old school {open a window, turn on a fan or have some extra blankets}.

Something else to note: many apartments that do offer ‘all utilities included’ may not have central air conditioning. That could mean that you have to buy {and possibly install} your own window unit. The presence or absence of central AC varies from building-to-building, so it’s certainly something you will want to ask about while on tour!

The bonus to an apartment with all utilities included is that with one rent payment, you knock out a bunch of bills. {Even if you still have to pay your internet and phone bill separately}