Which NYC Condo Utilities Are in Common Charges?

Updated Oct 11, 2026 · 6 min read

Plans that say who pays for each utility: water 1,117, apartment electricity 1,872, air conditioning 363, heat 686. Budgets: 635 first-year budgets.

Water: Almost Always in Common Charges

NYC bills water and sewer by the building, so in 98% of the 1,117 plans that say who pays, it's a common expense split among owners. A few (18 plans) install water submeters so each owner pays for what they use.

Electricity: Two Meters, Two Bills

Every condo pays for electricity twice over, and it helps to keep the two straight:

• Your apartment's electricity (lights, outlets, appliances, and usually your heat pump) is on your own bill.
• Common-area electricity (hallway and lobby lights, elevators, pumps, fans, the gym, and any shared mechanical equipment) is on the building's "house" meter and paid through common charges.

Your apartment: almost always your own meter

In 96% of the 1,872 plans that say, each apartment has its own Con Edison meter. The exception is big buildings: 28% of the 139 plans with 100+ apartments submeter electricity, meaning the building buys power in bulk and bills each owner for their usage. Claremont Hall, The Cortland, ONE11 Residences and VITA all submeter. At the Mandarin Oriental Residences on Fifth Avenue, every service other than gas and water is submetered.

Why it matters more now: with heat pumps, induction stoves and electric water heaters, electricity is becoming your biggest utility bill in a new condo.

Common areas: in your common charges

91% of the 635 first-year budgets we could check, for plans filed since 2020, have a line of its own for common-area electricity. It's based on an engineer's estimate of the house meter's usage, and it grows with the building's size and amenities:

A small walk-up's house meter barely runs: The Harman, a building of 8 apartments in Bushwick, budgets about $1,130 a year for common-area electricity, about $140 per apartment. A big building with elevators, corridors lit around the clock and shared equipment is another story: Centric in Woodside, with 131 apartments, budgets about $323,790 a year for electricity, about $2,090 per apartment a year.

Watch where the heat pump compressors are wired

Heat pumps have an outdoor compressor (the condensing unit). If each apartment has its own, it's usually on your meter and you pay to run it. If several apartments share one, as in many VRF systems, it may run on the house meter instead, and its electricity lands in common charges.

The budgets suggest this matters. Among plans filed since 2021, buildings with VRF systems budget about three to four times as much common-area electricity per apartment as similar-size buildings with individual split systems:

The budget's electricity line(s) per apartment per year, median, for plans filed since 2021, by the heating and cooling system the plan describes.

The catch: the comparison rests on 125 budgets, and only 10 of them are split-system buildings with 30 or more apartments, so read the larger-building gap as rough. VRF buildings also tend to have more amenities, so not all of that gap is heating and cooling.

Still, it's a reason to read the fine print: a VRF building's common charges may include part of your heating and cooling bill, and its owners' own electric bills may be lower to match. See individual vs. shared compressors.

Heat: Usually Yours, Unless the Building Is Big

Most new condos heat each apartment with its own heat pump, so in 83% of the 686 plans that say who pays for heat, owners pay on their own bills. In buildings under 10 apartments, it's 95%.

Large buildings with a central plant are the exception: 70% of the 37 plans with 100+ apartments that say include heat in common charges. Sutton Tower and 255 East 77 include central heat and gas in common charges, and at The North in Williamsburg, owners share heating and hot water as a common expense.

Gas and Hot Water: It Depends on Size

Share of plans that say who pays for gas, and for hot water, by building size.

The bigger the building, the more likely it runs one central gas line and one hot water system, and splits the bill. Small buildings give each apartment its own meter and water heater. More on that in how NYC condos make hot water.

How to Compare Two Condos Fairly

Two condos with the same common charges can cost very different amounts to live in. The reason is usually utilities: some buildings fold heat, gas and hot water into common charges, while others leave you to pay them on your own bills.

• Read the utilities section of each offering plan, or the Schedule B budget footnotes, to see which utilities are in common charges.
• Add your own bills. If one building includes heat and hot water and the other doesn't, the cheaper common charges may not be cheaper overall.
• Ask for actual bills. For a resale, ask the seller for a year of electric bills. For new construction, ask the sales office for estimates.
• Watch for submetering. It's fair to owners, but you'll get a bill from the building instead of Con Ed, sometimes with an administrative fee.

Compare budgets on our operating expense benchmarks and common charge benchmarks. See also how much condo common charges should be and why operating costs differ.

Related: Condo Utilities Cost per Unit, by Size · In-Unit Water Heaters in NYC Condos