Individual Meters in a Plex: Who Pays the Electricity, Heat Included or Not, and the Impact on Yield

ImmoMulti — a direct buyer of multi-unit properties on the North Shore — regularly sees the same confusion among owners: individual electricity meters in a plex and the question of who pays what. One meter per unit is not enough to make the tenant pay for electricity; everything depends on what the lease says about included services. This guide untangles the separation of Hydro-Quebec meters, the difference between heat included and not included, and the real effect on your rent and yield — with the official sources to verify every point.

Separate meters in a plex: what really changes

Separating the meters means giving each unit its own Hydro-Quebec meter, plus a separate meter for common areas. It lets each tenant open an account and pay their consumption — but only if the lease does not declare electricity as included in the rent. The meter is a technical prerequisite; the lease determines who pays.

Many owners believe that installing individual meters automatically shifts the bill to the tenant. That is not the case. A plex can perfectly well have one meter per unit while still providing electricity for free because the lease says it is "included." Conversely, a single-meter building necessarily forces the landlord to pay for everything, since there is no way to distinguish each tenant's consumption.

On the North Shore — Terrebonne, Mascouche, Blainville, Boisbriand, Saint-Eustache — older plexes are often fed by a single meter with heat included, while recent builds provide separate meters from the outset. The configuration is inherited directly from the year of construction and past renovations. For the exact connection and requirements, the reference is Hydro-Quebec — metering and billing.

Who pays what by your plex's configuration

Three scenarios: individual meters with electricity charged to the tenant (the tenant pays), heat or electricity included in the lease (the landlord pays despite separate meters), and a single meter (the landlord pays everything). The common-area meter almost always stays in the landlord's name.

Here is how the bill breaks down according to the most common situations in Quebec plexes:

The rule to remember: the meter alone never decides. An individual meter makes it possible to shift the bill, but it is the "Services" section of the Quebec lease from the Administrative Housing Tribunal that makes it official. To understand exactly how that section works, see our guide to reading a Quebec lease section by section.

ImmoMulti Renovation CalculatorEstimate the cost of separating your plex's meters

→

Heat included or not: the lease decides

Even with separate meters, if the lease states "heat included" or "electricity included," the landlord pays. The services section of the Quebec lease lists what is provided. Removing an included service during a lease term is a modification of the conditions, governed by the Administrative Housing Tribunal.

Heat included is the most frequent source of confusion. A plex with individual meters whose leases say "heat included" does not make the tenant pay for heat, no matter that each unit is heated electrically on its own meter: if the account is in the landlord's name or the service is declared included, the landlord bears it. The distinction between heat included and not included is therefore contractual before it is technical.

You cannot unilaterally decide, mid-lease, to stop paying the electricity of a unit where it was included. Removing a service is a modification of the lease conditions, which must go through a notice of modification at renewal and, in case of disagreement, through the Tribunal, which will assess the corresponding rent adjustment. The rules on services and rent fixing are detailed on the site of the Administrative Housing Tribunal.

Sources: Hydro-Quebec — metering and billing and Administrative Housing Tribunal (services included in the lease, modification of conditions).

Impact on rent and yield

When the tenant pays their own electricity, you remove a variable and unpredictable expense from your net operating income, which stabilizes yield and, at an equal capitalization rate, supports the building's economic value. But if you exclude a previously included service, the rent generally has to drop accordingly: the net gain depends on the starting point.

The value of an income property is calculated from its net income and the capitalization rate (cap rate). An electricity expense borne by the landlord is especially penalizing because it varies with rates, weather and tenants' habits — three factors outside your control. By shifting electricity to the tenants, you make your expenses more predictable, which reassures buyers and lenders. To understand how net income and the cap rate work, read our guide to calculating a multiplex's yield.

Beware, though, of the optical illusion: on rent, a "heat included" unit rents for more than one where the tenant pays everything. If you convert a building from included to not included, the rent should logically drop by the estimated value of the removed service. The real gain is therefore not "the tenant pays and I keep the same rent": it is the predictability of your expenses and the building's appeal to an investor-buyer.

Should you separate an existing plex's meters?

Separation is not mandatory for an existing plex: many run on a single meter with heat included. It is a management investment requiring work by a master electrician (panels, rewiring, a meter base compliant with Hydro-Quebec, permits). It is mainly justified when expense volatility weighs on your yield or at resale.

Separating the meters of an existing building is a non-trivial electrical project: new panels per unit, rewiring, a meter base compliant with Hydro-Quebec standards, permits, and sometimes an upgrade of the electrical service. The cost varies widely with the state of the installation and the number of units. Before committing:

• Get several quotes from master electricians, and require a breakdown of the items (panels, permits, meter base, connection).
• Confirm connection requirements with Hydro-Quebec to avoid costly rework.
• Model the net scenario: cost of work vs. annual expense savings, accounting for the rent adjustment if services were included.
• Mind the lease calendar: converting an included service is planned at renewal, not at any time.

In many cases, separation happens naturally as tenants leave and renovations occur, which smooths the investment and avoids imposing a change of service on a sitting tenant.

Common mistakes to avoid

The question of meters and services is simple in principle but tricky in practice. The most common pitfalls:

• Believing the meter is enough: without a consistent lease clause, an individual meter shifts nothing.
• Removing an included service without process: it requires a notice of modification and, in case of dispute, a hearing at the Tribunal.
• Forgetting to adjust the rent: moving a unit from included to not included without lowering rent invites a challenge.
• Neglecting the common-area meter: it stays with the landlord and must be budgeted separately.
• Underestimating separation costs: panels, permits and connection can turn a "small" project into a major job.
• Not checking the Hydro-Quebec account holder: when buying, confirm who actually pays for each unit.