Short answer
If every flat has its own K-Electric or LESCO meter, nobody needs to split anything: each flat pays its own bill, and only the common-area load — lift, water pump, stairwell lights, generator — has to be divided.
If the building runs on one shared meter, pick a method before the next bill arrives, not after: equal per flat, by sub-meter reading, by area, or by occupancy. Equal is the only one that needs no extra hardware or measurement, and it is what most buildings settle on for the common-area portion even when flats are separately metered.
First, work out what actually needs splitting
Most arguments about the electricity bill are really arguments about which of two bills is being discussed. Separate them first.
Flat consumption. In most newer buildings each flat has its own meter and its own bill from the utility. That part is already settled — a flat that ran its air conditioner all June pays for June.
Common-area consumption. The lift, the water pump, the stairwell and corridor lights, the car-park lights, the gate motor, and the generator or UPS that backs all of it. This arrives as one bill with one number on it and no indication of who used what. This is the bill that needs a method.
If your building is on a single bulk meter, the two are mixed together and you are splitting the whole thing. That is the harder case, and it is where sub-meters earn their cost.
The four methods
| Method | What it needs | Fair when | The argument it causes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equal per flat | Nothing | Flats are similar in size, and the cost is mostly common-area load everyone benefits from equally | “We are two people and they are seven” |
| By sub-meter | A sub-meter per flat, plus someone to read them monthly | Flats differ a lot in consumption and you are on one bulk meter | Meter accuracy, missed readings, and who pays the difference between the sum of sub-meters and the actual bill — there always is one |
| By area | Each flat's square footage, agreed once | Flat sizes genuinely differ — a 3,000 sq ft duplex and a 900 sq ft studio | A big empty flat subsidising a small full one |
| By occupancy | An honest, maintained count of residents per flat | Consumption tracks people more than space — common in hostels and shared houses | Nobody updates it when a tenant leaves, and families dispute whether a child counts as one |
There is no method without an argument attached. The useful question is not which one is perfectly fair but which argument your building would rather have once, in writing, than every month.
A worked example
An eight-flat building in Gulshan. June's common-area bill is Rs 48,601 — lift, pump, corridor lights and the generator's share of the load.
Equal split: 48,601 ÷ 8 = 6,075.125. That does not divide evenly, which is where most spreadsheets quietly lose money — round every share down to Rs 6,075 and the building has collected Rs 48,600, one rupee short, every single month. Done properly, the leftover paisa is distributed: one flat pays Rs 6,075.13 and seven pay Rs 6,075.12, and the shares add back to exactly Rs 48,601.
By area, with a total of 12,400 sq ft: a 1,900 sq ft flat pays 1,900 ÷ 12,400 × 48,601 = Rs 7,447, while a 1,100 sq ft flat pays Rs 4,312.
Whichever you choose, write the method down and put it where new residents will see it. A method nobody can point to is not a method; it is whatever the person collecting remembers.
Doing it in Baantlo
Baantlo splits a bill evenly across only the flats you select for it, which handles the common cases directly:
- Open your building and tap New expense.
- Enter the amount and pick a Category — utilities, generator, water, or one you add yourself.
- Under Split between, select the flats this bill applies to. The lift bill can go to the upper floors only; the gas riser to the lower ones; the guard's salary to everyone. A vacant flat is simply left out.
- Save. Every selected flat's balance moves immediately, and the leftover paisa is distributed rather than dropped.
For a bill that arrives every month at the same amount — the guard's salary, fixed maintenance — set it up once as a recurring bill and Baantlo adds it at the start of each month.
What Baantlo does not do yet: weighted splits. There is no way to tell it that flat 4-A should carry 1.8 times what flat 1-B does. If you split by area or by sub-meter reading, the workaround is to enter each flat's share as its own entry rather than one bill split eight ways. Weighted splits are on the list.
Questions people ask
Is it legal to charge flats for common electricity in Pakistan?
Yes. Recovering genuine common-area costs from residents is ordinary building management and is normally governed by your building's own bye-laws or the apartment ownership agreement. What you cannot do is resell electricity at a markup above the utility's tariff. Charge what the bill says, split it, and keep the bill where residents can see it.
Should a vacant flat pay for common electricity?
Most buildings say yes for fixed costs such as the lift and the pump, because the service stays available whether the flat is occupied or not, and no for consumption-linked costs. Whatever you decide, decide it once and write it down — this is the single most common dispute when a flat changes hands.
Are sub-meters worth the cost?
If your building is on one bulk meter and flats differ widely in consumption, usually yes — they turn an argument into a reading. If each flat already has its own utility meter, no: you would be metering only the common-area load, which is mostly fixed and is simpler to split equally.
What happens if someone pays only part of their share?
Record whatever came in. The unpaid remainder stays on that flat's balance and carries into next month, the way a shopkeeper's khata does. Baantlo does not need the payment to match the charge.