Water charges for a town house - Who needs to pay Tenant or Landlord

[rajmegamind]

Guys,

I recently rented a town house . And this morning served with a Water bill from Rental agency claiming that i owe the water usage charge ($150) from the date i rented the town house in Sydney. I remember from the Advt that there was not water charge to be paid . And i confirmed with my Tenant agreement which also says that there is no water charge to be paid. The contract is for 6 months till March 2014.

So i called up this Agent , who said " normally for a town house with a separate meter they water charges are paid by the tenant". And they admitted its their mistake that its not been put on the tenant contract and normally all the town houses water are paid by tenant. And agreed to Split 50 % for the first contract period (6 months ) and the rest of the year had to paid full by me

What are my options here. Abide with Agent and pay the 50% off for 6 months and pay the rest on full ?. Since the tenant agreement does say the water charge is not paid, can i ignore the letter. I sent a email to the agent , they have not responded via email instead spoke over the phone for 50% off .

I know the Agent has to last say when i vacate the premises . They can/would hold the deposit for house damage which worries me. Whats are my opinions here

 

[Brady]

Tough decision.

Legally I don't believe you have any responsibilty to pay the 50% as it's not in the contract...

But was it hard to find a property? Was there much competition. You will likely be dealing with the PM for a while. Do you plan on staying on after the 6months. Do you like the house?

End of the day if you didn't want to pay it you don't have to. It could be a error by the vendor or the agent, but it's not your fault.

 

[zepth]

39 Water usage charges payable by tenant

(1) A tenant must pay the water usage charges for the residential premises, but only if:
(a) the premises are separately metered or the premises are not connected to a water supply service and water is delivered to the premises by vehicle, and
(b) the premises contain water efficiency measures prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section, and
(c) the charges do not exceed the amount payable by the landlord for water used by the tenant.
(2) A tenant is not required to pay the water usage charges unless the landlord gives the tenant a copy of the part of the water supply authority?s bill setting out the charges, or other evidence of the cost of water used by the tenant.
(3) A landlord must give the tenant not less than 21 days to pay the water usage charges.
(4) A tenant is not required to pay the water usage charges if the landlord fails to request payment from the tenant within 3 months of the issue of the bill for those charges by the water supply authority.
(5) Subsection (4) does not prevent a landlord from taking action to recover an amount of water usage charges later than 3 months after the issue of a bill for those charges, if the landlord first sought payment of the amount within 3 months after the issue of the bill.
(6) A landlord must ensure that the tenant receives the benefit of, or an amount equivalent to, any rebate received by the landlord in respect of any water usage charges payable or paid by the tenant.
Note. Tenants under social housing tenancy agreements may be subject to different provisions in relation to the payment of charges for water usage (see Division 3 of Part 7).
(7) This section is a term of every residential tenancy agreement.


Looking at the legislation they are allowed to charge you, however they have not attempted to recover the money within 3 months of receiving the bill so for the previous charges you will not have to pay.

Does the lease agreement specifically say no water charges are payable, or does it say nothing about water charges?

 

[rajmegamind]

Thanks Brady,

No this property was not in demand and was on market for 6 weeks before we picked up. Not so much a competition to this Town house.
I'm currently in process of building my own house so would need this house for next 6 months ( Max) till August .

So what happens after the Contract expires on March ?, We want to be month on month from April . Can agent force me to pay the water charges after the contract expiry?.

Why does the Agent doesn't sent email back for my response. Instead choose to speak over phone and send bill via post.

 

[thatbum]

Basically, its comes down to are you willing to pay $75 that you don't have to, in order to *possibly* maintain a good relationship with the agent.

Note its probably only the agent and not the landlord because I doubt the agent has told the landlord they have stuffed up.

 

[Scott No Mates]

I agree with the others that there is no requirement for you to pay water usage under the lease if the section says nil.

Is the th separately metered? If this was their mistake, they can fess up to the owner and show their willingness to foot the bill for their mistake rather than being heroes saying that they got you to pay 50%

 

[wylie]

Basically, its comes down to are you willing to pay $75 that you don't have to, in order to *possibly* maintain a good relationship with the agent.

Note its probably only the agent and not the landlord because I doubt the agent has told the landlord they have stuffed up.

I agree with the others that there is no requirement for you to pay water usage under the lease if the section says nil.

Is the th separately metered? If this was their mistake, they can fess up to the owner and show their willingness to foot the bill for their mistake rather than being heroes saying that they got you to pay 50%

I think it is the agent's mistake and the agent should cough up the $150 they've lost the landlord due to their mistake.

However, you may find yourself homeless and needing to rent something from when you are "asked to leave" at the end of your lease (you are safe until then) until you need to move into your new place.

For that reason alone, I'd toss up whether being "right" and homeless is worth it or if paying the $75 is more worthwhile.

Perhaps ask the agent to have a new lease signed in exchange for paying up for their mistake, and make the end date one that gives you a home until you need to move out. I'm not sure how you would ask for this, because it sounds kind of like bribery, but worth considering?

 

[zepth]

It does not need to be specified in the lease in NSW. The requirements are that the premises is water efficient and that the landlord seeks payment within three months of the bill being issued to them and that the premises is individually metered.

 

[SuiCid3]

If your tenant agreement specifically states no water charges, then you don't have to pay it.
If it doesn't mention anything at all, then the legislation will come into play.

 

[rajmegamind]

Tenant contract says there is no water charges to be paid . from you guys, I have made up my mind not to pay for other peoples mistakes.

So what happens when the lease expires and month on month starts from march . Does this change the game?. Am i required to follow the expired tenant contract and not pay the water charges. Or should i start paying the full water charges after the expiry of the contract ???

 

[S.T]

You just keep operating under the same lease that you've signed when it goes month to month, so unless they give you a new, amended lease to sign I wouldn't be paying any water bills

 

[zepth]

Tenant contract says there is no water charges to be paid . from you guys, I have made up my mind not to pay for other peoples mistakes.

Then definitely no obligation to pay. And as above until a new lease agreement is signed you continue on a periodic lease with all the same obligation as the fixed lease had.

 

[wylie]

Tenant contract says there is no water charges to be paid . from you guys, I have made up my mind not to pay for other peoples mistakes.

So what happens when the lease expires and month on month starts from march . Does this change the game?. Am i required to follow the expired tenant contract and not pay the water charges. Or should i start paying the full water charges after the expiry of the contract ???

Whilst I think you are entitled to refuse to pay, just be aware that it is possible when your lease runs out in March and you want to stay on for several months until your house is ready, that either the landlord or the agent might decide to make things difficult and tell you to move out at the end of the lease.

So, stick to your guns, but for the sake of $75 you might find you are asked to move at the end of the lease and you might have trouble finding another short term rental.

 

[Scott No Mates]

cross that bridge when you get to it.

 

[S.T]

if I was the landlord of this property, I'd be kicking the property manager out, not the tenant (if he's a good tenant in every other respect).

 

[RetireRich101]

as Tenant I would suggest you say or put in writing this to your Agent:

"
I am happy to pay whatever usage that I've incurred, however prior to release any payment I would like to get a report to indicate that all water taps/shower head inflow, ie A maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute is certified by a Licensed Plumber in accordance to Department of Fair Trading ref article http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/T...me/During_a_tenancy/Paying_water_charges.html,
Otherwise I have no choice but to lodge a complaint with Dept of Fair Trading
"

It tends to get the Landloard, as it cost around $200 to get a Licensed Plumber for the certificate, and they may need to change the shower/tap heads to compliant...

 

[Ed Barton]

Whilst I think you are entitled to refuse to pay, just be aware that it is possible when your lease runs out in March and you want to stay on for several months until your house is ready, that either the landlord or the agent might decide to make things difficult and tell you to move out at the end of the lease.

So, stick to your guns, but for the sake of $75 you might find you are asked to move at the end of the lease and you might have trouble finding another short term rental.

There's always a chance a LL/agent will retaliate for a tenant exercising their rights.

However, given how incompetent the agent has been to date there's a good chance they will miss the deadline for service of notice to end the tenancy on the fixed term. If they do, the NSW regulations (notice periods - I believe) then swing in favour of the tenant once it becomes periodical. There's also a good chance the agent will fail to follow the water bill up.

If I was the tenant I would simply do nothing, continue to pay the rent and look after the place. Hopefully the agent remains incompetent and lets the lease lapse to periodical, which should get the tenant almost to the point of moving into their newly built house. Given how biased the tribunals is towards tenants I'd imagine if they take it there they'll end up being able to stay till their house is ready.

 

[marg4000]

Agree with Ed.

Don't pay as it is not in the lease. Ensure you always pay rent on time and make sure the place is sparkling for periodic inspections. The PM will have a hard time getting an owner to fail to renew a lease to a good tenant.
Marg

 

[misakimen]

I agree with others that legally speaking you don't need to pay, because they made the mistake in the first place and they should take the full responsibility. However, if you want to keep a good relationship with the REA for whatever reason, it's not a bad idea to pay that small money.

Remember when the lease expire and if you want to stay, the REA may say bad things about you and suggest the owner to increase your rent, just because they hates you for not doing their favour to cover up their mistake.....though choice

 

[crest133]

A deal is a deal. If the PM has made a mistake, they must foot the bill and if the PM won't stick to the deal, they are unethical and not to be trusted. That's why lease agreements are in writing.

Cheers
crest133