I don't know how it works where you live, but with many utilities where I live, you generally only get billed for an estimated use. Every few months, someone actually comes out and takes a reading, and that month you get billed by the actual amount, and your estimated use is then based on that. That might be happening where you live, and would explain the sudden spike

>>16614431
To add to what this anon said.

In a lot of places, there are no individual meters per unit, so all they can track is gas usage of the entire building or sections of the building (depending on how the lines and meters run). So what they end up doing is just evenly splitting the bill among the entire complex.

Review your renters agreement (this--specifically the way they charge you for utilities--is 90% probably in there) and talk to your landlord if it isn't in there.

There might not be anything you can do except actually use gas (because you're paying for it anyway) and find a new place to move in to that has the ability to track on individual usage/flat fee/is paid utilities (which is rare).

>>16614515
I mean in our rental agreement it says we pay for gas and they said for us to talk to the local gas company to set it up and all.

The way our apartment is is that it's above our landlords store. so it's not really an apartment building with other tenants.

So I'm not sure if maybe the gas company looked at the entire building/store when he calculated the gas?
Is there legal recourse for that? like if the gas was only set up for the entire building/his store and our apartment above it?

>>16614690

Legal recourse varies greatly depending on the EXACT specifics of your agreement, and what legal jurisdiction you reside in (I.E. The laws in the UK are very different from the US. And the Laws in Texas are very different than in California. And the Laws in Los Angeles County can still be different from the laws in San Diego County.

http://www.tenantsunion.org/en/rights/utility-best-practices

Give that a browse (worst case, after reading that you know what EXACT questions to ask next time you sign an agreement) and research your own local tenant laws if you want the exact specifics.

>>16614690
your best recourse is talking with your landlord and asking him to compensate you for a fair percentage.

However, I will point out that it is WINTER now and so you're probably turning the heat on more, which costs a lot more than you'd think.

>>16615524
I know but like we're keeping it the lowest our thermostat allows, which is 55 degrees.
And going from $25ish to $120 is such a large jump.

I talked to my father and he thinks that the gas might not be set up correct and that it's charting the gas for the entire building?
Because $120ish is what my dad pays to heat his entire 2k square foot house at around 65 degrees and my apartment is around 800 square feet.
I'm trying to ask my boyfriend to talk to our landlord because I'm currently at my parents house for the holidays.

I mean if it's gonna be that much to keep it at 55 degrees while it's still not that cold outside. Like it only needed to keep the apartment maybe 10 degrees warmer most days. I kind of want to figure out how to turn it off during the day while I'm at school because that is too much. I'd rather keep it at the bare minimum needed to prevent pipes from freezing.

Anyone know how to turn off heating temporarily with a digital thermostat?