Hi all, I wasn't sure where this thread was ment to go but I think here is as good as anywhere. Firstly a little background to give the context of where this thread is headed and for our interstate friends. In SA the owner receives the quarterly water bill. It contains some additional charges apart from what the tenant has used for the past 3 months. There are a number of ways it is paid but basically the tenant pays the usage and the landlord the rest. On the whole this is fine. However when problems start then it is a very poor system. Problems did start in one of my houses. The tenant moved out and left the water bills to be paid. This totalled nearly 1000 dollars. It was over summer and she had an above ground pool. I had to pay the bills and really have no hope of getting my money back. What can I do? Before you suggest the bond money that was used for other things and yes normally that can be accessed to pay for it. But again if any outstanding gas bills were not paid why isn't the bond money used for that. I am through this thread asking for suggestions. I have spoken to my prop manager and suggested the bills be sent straight to the house to the tenant. She said that is fine but I still have to pay the additional charges and it wouldn't excuse me from paying if the tenant moved out again and abandoned the house. I don't understand why the owner in SA has to get involved with this utility bill. It is quite unlike electricity and gas. These are in the tenants name and they are obliged to pay them. It has nothing to do with the home owner. So why are water bills from SA Water? What I am proposing and willing to go to my local MP and seeking support from other home owners is that the bill be sent to the tenants it is in their name and another separate bill (yearly) for the additional charges be sent to the home owner. What do you think? Would you support this? Thanks feel free to share your thoughts and or experiences.
SA Water bills
- Thread starter mmmggg
- Start date
Your lazy property manager should have read the water meter before the tenant moved out. My property manger doesn't calculate the water usage off of the water bill but physically checks the meter and charges the tenant appropriately. No need to get the politicians involved, just have your lazy PM read the meter before the tenant moves out. The system is fine, your property manager is the weak link.
We don't charge our Tenants just the water usage but they also pay the Quarterly Supply Charge..hope you have been charging this also because it's quite a significant amount.
In answer to your question, i have no idea why SA Water bills are in the owners names and have wondered this myself however, with regards to your unpaid sa water usage from your tenant, can you claim it from your insurance? If insurance doesn't cover things like unpaid utilities then maybe switch things around with your bond claim and claim the unpaid utilities on the bond and then whatever you're currently claiming on your bond (presumably damage, cleaning, maintenance etc), you can claim that through insurance. Just a thought. Obviously you'll be up for an excess and whether this excess is less than what your former tenant owes i'm not sure but thats something you can weigh up to see if its worthwhile putting in a claim.
In answer to your question, i have no idea why SA Water bills are in the owners names and have wondered this myself however, with regards to your unpaid sa water usage from your tenant, can you claim it from your insurance? If insurance doesn't cover things like unpaid utilities then maybe switch things around with your bond claim and claim the unpaid utilities on the bond and then whatever you're currently claiming on your bond (presumably damage, cleaning, maintenance etc), you can claim that through insurance. Just a thought. Obviously you'll be up for an excess and whether this excess is less than what your former tenant owes i'm not sure but thats something you can weigh up to see if its worthwhile putting in a claim.
