It might seem strange, but all of the utilities (except telephone, and premium TV) are included with the rent. Even more surprising, the residence will still be fair market rent which is likely what Section-8 bases their rents on. One might even question if this will actually earn a reasonable profit to keep the business running. It’s not just the utilities, but employees, taxes, and other costs. I will address each utility in this page, and provide for my rationale.
Electricity
As of time of writing this page (2026-03-18), the tallest building is the employee’s building which is 8 floors. All other apartment buildings are 5 floors or less. The roof of all buildings will be made flat. This is done for a reason, and that is each roof will have sun tracking solar panels. These panels collects electricity which is fed into battery banks, and the remainder sent to Duquesne Electricity’s grid. The electricity sent will be credited in case it is needed further in the billing month. These solar panels will generate much of the electricity the building might need.
Energy Star appliances are the only appliance that would be in the apartment. This is intended to reduce the need for electricity, and every year about 1 month before Section-8 inspection, the apartment will be inspected. If there is a defect in the energy star appliance, it will be fixed or replaced. Lights must be LED light bulbs. CF bulbs consumes 25 watts, and an LED bulb is 5-10 watts. At worst, this is 40% of what a CF bulb would consume. There will be sufficient insulation. The idea is to keep the internal temperature indoors. If you need to warm up the apartment, that warmth is not going out through the windows or walls. If you need to cool down the place, it again will not exit the residence. All of these things are designed to reduce the demand of electricity required to operate. It would be quite possible that the realty will pay 20% of what they would have otherwise paid.
Gas
Simply put, there is no gas line. This means neither you nor the realty company will pay for gas services. There are reasons which are addressed in another page. With the gas line capped, this is one less bill that the realty will have to worry about.
Internet
The internet is required for operation of the buildings in questioned. An ATA? will be needed for telephone, and for the snow melt system. It just makes sense to offer internet to the tenants to make it easier for them to rent. If they have less bills to worry about, then they will likely wish to remain, and that will mean a good tenant.
Television
There will be an OTA (Over The Air) antenna that every tenant will be able to access. This will give them access to 50+ channels for free without any cable subscription. With that said, they can choose cable TV, or IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision), but this is a choice, and not a quality of life need. With local access to the antenna, one just has to plug into the TV Wall located in the living room and bedrooms. The coaxial lines running in the walls will reach to the communications closet, and changes on the service made there.
Trash
In the city of Pittsburgh, trash is provided for free to all residents. Commercial businesses might have to pay for their trash, but I doubt the apartments will qualify as such. The only thing you need to do is take your trash to the curb within 12 hours of collection.
Water/Sewage
This is something most apartment landlords pay for. The reason of why is to charge a tenant with a utility, it is required that the utility is on separate meters. This will always be the number of units+1. For things like electricity, and internet – this is relatively easy. However, it is much more difficult for water and sewage. So as with all property owners, FSP Realty includes water/sewage in the apartment rent. Even if it was simple, it would still be included.