How do I make sure a new tenant puts the utilities in their name at move-in?

Write it into the lease and the welcome note

A lease should say which utilities the tenant puts in their own name, which the landlord pays, and which are split. It should also say the date the tenant must have service on. Then send a short list that names each provider, its phone number or web page and the address of the unit.

• Electricity, gas and water or sewer, with the company name for that address.
• Trash, internet and cable if the tenant arranges them.
• The date by which each must be on, usually the day before the lease start.
• What the tenant should have ready: the lease or the move-in date, an ID, and a deposit if the utility requires one.

Ask for proof, not a promise

Ask the tenant to send an account confirmation from each utility before move-in day. A confirmation email or a screenshot with the address and start date is enough. Keep it with the lease, and note the date each confirmation arrived. Tenants with a thin credit history may be asked for a deposit by the utility, so tell them early; a late deposit is the usual reason service does not start on time. If the tenant cannot show service, you can move the key handoff by a day, so the unit does not fall into an unpaid gap.

In the Sioux Falls agreement the landlord agrees to ensure tenants are informed of their responsibility to establish utility service and pay any required deposits, and to notify the utility within two business days when a property becomes occupied. Those two duties are good practice anywhere.

Handle the handoff day

1. Photograph each meter on move-in day, with the date and the reading visible.
2. Send the readings to the utility and to the tenant, so both start from the same number.
3. Tell the utility you are leaving the account, if the unit was in your name during the turn.
4. Check the first bill that comes to you. Anything dated after move-in belongs to the tenant.

Example a made-up unit's power account is in the landlord's name during a 9 day turn. The tenant moves in on the 10th but never calls, so the landlord pays for 14 more days at a made-up $3.80 a day, which is 14 x $3.80 = $53.20. A confirmation request before the key handoff would have caught it.

If the tenant leaves a utility bill unpaid

Virginia section 55.1-1226 is an example of a statute that deals with it. Subsection C allows a landlord to withhold a reasonable portion of the deposit for an unpaid third-party utility balance, but only with prior written notice to the tenant. Other states have different rules, so check yours, and write the notice terms into the lease.

Never shut off a tenant's utilities to force payment of rent. See why a landlord cannot shut off utilities.

How DoorKeeping handles it

Store the tenant's utility confirmations and the meter photos with the signed lease, and email the tenant the provider list with the move-in note. Your Claude or ChatGPT, connected to DoorKeeping, can show which units are missing confirmations before the key date.

Sources

1. Sioux Falls Utilities, Landlord Agreement for Continuation of Utility Service (2026), read Oct 30, 2026
2. Code of Virginia section 55.1-1226, security deposits, read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Can I hold the keys until the tenant shows proof of utilities?

You may schedule the handoff after proof arrives, if the lease says so. Do not delay past the lease start without a plan, since the tenant may have rights to possession.

What if the unit is on one meter with other units?

Then you pay the bill and bill the tenants by a method your lease and state allow. See the post on shared water bills.

Who pays for trash and internet?

Whatever the lease says. Say it plainly, by name, so there is no question later.