Utility Management
Synonyms: Utilities Administration، Utility Billing Management، Meter Management، Energy and Water Management
Last updated: 2026-09-25
Short Definition
Utility management in a property is organising the supply of electricity, water, sewerage and internet, metering consumption, allocating bills and following up payment, including opening and transferring accounts, reading meters, monitoring consumption and leaks, and deciding who pays what: the owner, the tenant or the owners’ association.
Overview
Legal Basis
Electricity tariffs are set by the Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority (18 halalas/kWh for residential use up to 6,000 kWh a month and 30 halalas above). Ejar, supervised by REGA, offers a service to transfer the financial liability for electricity and water meters to the tenant during the lease. In jointly owned property, Article 37 of the Implementing Regulation of the Law of Ownership, Partition and Management of Real Estate Units (M/85 dated 2/7/1441H) requires each owner to pay the amount set by the general assembly where meters are shared. The Real Estate Brokerage Law (M/130 dated 30/11/1443H) defines facilities management as handling a property’s technical affairs, such as water, electricity and air-conditioning networks, and makes it a licensed real estate service.
Practical Example
A property management company in Jeddah runs a 10-apartment building where each flat has its own electricity meter, there is one shared water meter, and a third meter serves the common parts (lighting, pumps and lift). When each lease is registered on Ejar, the electricity meter’s financial liability is transferred to the tenant with the reading recorded. For water, the leases provide that the monthly bill is split equally among occupied flats: a SAR 1,200 bill with 8 occupied flats means SAR 150 per tenant. The common-parts meter uses about 2,000 kWh a month, i.e. 2,000 × 0.18 = SAR 360 before VAT and fixed charges, borne by the owner. One month water use jumps 40%, and monitoring reveals a leak in a rooftop tank that is fixed within two days.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Leaving the electricity meter in the owner’s name without transferring the financial liability or a clear clause, then facing accumulated bills after the tenant leaves.
- ✗Not recording meter readings on move-in and move-out days.
- ✗Splitting a shared meter’s bill in a way not provided for in the lease or a general-assembly decision.
- ✗Not monitoring common-area meters, so a water leak or electricity waste goes undetected for months.
- ✗Budgeting electricity only at the lower rate, although residential consumption above 6,000 kWh a month is charged at 30 halalas.
International Differences
In the UAE tenants open their own account with the local electricity and water authority and pay a deposit; in Turkey electricity, water and gas subscriptions are moved to the tenant’s name on move-in; in Egypt meters often stay in the owner’s name and bills are settled within the tenancy; and in many Western countries smart sub-metering is widespread in multi-unit buildings. Saudi Arabia is distinctive in that meter liability is transferred as part of registering the lease itself on Ejar, under a tiered electricity tariff published by the regulator.
