What residents still have to register

Residents hear "the apartment" as one product. Individually metered electricity, water the city bills, trash that has to be requested, and internet that is not in the rent are separate. Utility Connect sets up the non-local services with the resident on a call: internet, TV, security, insurance, home warranty, and movers, and electricity in a deregulated market. Gas, water, trash, and regulated electric are researched and sent to them. They enroll in those, unless your lease already includes them. Your staff should not offer to enroll the resident with the city, and we will not either.

What the welcome letter should say

State which services the rent includes. Then say the rest splits in two. Services such as internet are set up on a call with Utility Connect. Local utilities that are not included, including gas, water, trash, and regulated electric, are identified in an email and the resident enrolls before move-in. A letter that says "utilities are taken care of" will be believed even when the lease says the opposite.

If the building has bulk internet, say whether it is mandatory, optional, or already in the rent. Tell us when you request the call, so we do not set up a second plan the building will not allow.

Move-in day at the desk

Confirm the unit number the local utility will see
Hand over gate and elevator instructions for any technician booked on the call
If they have not had the call, point them to it before you discuss internet
If they have not enrolled in a local utility the rent does not cover, point them at the notes
Do not collect a Social Security number to "send to the power company"

A leasing consultant can sit with a resident while the resident calls the water district. The resident has to be the one who identifies themselves. Your make-ready account for a vacant unit is not their account. Say that. Power during paint is not power in their name on the first of the month.

Transfers inside the portfolio

A move from unit 12 to unit 30 is a new premise for most local utilities, even when the lease feels like a transfer to you. The resident should ask that provider whether a transfer exists. Services we set up need a new call for the new unit. Do not tell them everything carries over unless that provider said so for your community, in writing, recently.

What the team should stop saying

Retire "we'll set up your water" and "the locator handles electric" when you mean a regulated utility. Replace both with the split: the call sets up the other services, and local utilities that are not in the rent are enrolled by the resident. If the portal still says you connect the local utilities, change the portal.

Common questions

Can we require proof they enrolled before we release keys?

That is your lease. If you require it, tell them early enough to enroll. A surprise at the desk produces screenshots and anger.

Can the resident be billed by Utility Connect?

We do not bill the household for the call. Do not advertise a resident fee for this and imply it is ours.

Who do they call if the notes and the meter disagree?

They call the local utility to confirm the premise, then they can call us to correct the research. Your office should not become the dispatcher for the electric company.

Language for staff is in what partners should say.