NSW:
Your landlord can only ask you to pay water usage charges provided all the minimum criteria have been met.
The minimum criteria for passing on water usage charges is:
? the rental premises must be individually metered (or water is delivered by vehicle, such as those with water tanks on rural properties) and
the charges must not exceed the amount billed for water usage by the water supplier and
? the rental premises must meet required ?water efficiency? standards.A rental property is only considered water efficient if it meets these standards.
Internal cold water taps and single mixer taps for kitchen sinks and bathroom hand basins A maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute.
Showerheads A maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute.
No leaking taps anywhere on the premises at the start of the tenancy or when the other water efficiency measures are installed.
The requirement for sink and basin taps to have a maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute does not apply to other taps in the premises such as bathtub taps, laundry taps, outside taps for the garden, or taps which supply washing machines and dishwashers.
The landlord does not necessarily need to change the showerheads and tap fittings. The water efficiency measures can be achieved simply by installing aerators or regulators to existing taps and showerheads and fixing any leaking taps on the premises.
VIC
The Act does not expressly address the issue of water supply other than by mains infrastructure. Sections 52 and 53 of the Act make it clear that for water supplied by a Water Board or Authority, the landlord is liable to pay any rates in relation to water supply, and that the tenant pays for water consumed if it can accurately measured by a water meter. If consumption cannot be measured per property, the landlord assumes responsibility to pay for the water used.
The Victorian Tenants Union suggests:
? Tank water: the landlord ensures that the water tank is full at the beginning
of the tenancy, paying for all water carted when supply is exhausted; the
tenant pays for water consumed by volume.
Furthermore, landlords have a responsibility to ensure that water supplied to a
rental property is safe and fit for all uses. While instruments such as the Safe
Drinking Water Act 2003 and the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2004 do not apply to the provision of non-mains water by landlords, as a matter of equity, rural Victorians not attached to water mains infrastructure should be entitled to a water supply of similar quality to their metropolitan counterparts.
The Tenants Union regards contamination of the water supply, by whatever cause, as a ?failure? of supply within the meaning of the urgent repair provisions of the Act ? thus the landlord is liable to remedy the situation. Landlords should also be encouraged to provide regular maintenance to tanks, bores, wells and pumps in order to ensure the continuous supply of an appropriate amount of clean and safe water.
Adequacy of water supply is also an issue. If a property utilizes tank water,
landlords must ensure the tank is of an appropriate size to serve the number of occupants. The Tenants Union suggests that landlords should be advised to select a tank by reference to the number of bedrooms in the property. It would be desirable that the provision of an appropriately sized water tank be included in any standards developed in regard to rental property.
