Water usage in Vic rental

[wombat]

Hi Guys - need some guidance from a Victorian Property manager

I have been charged water usage in one of my rentals, the water usage component came billed to me together with the water rates bill.

The property is separately metered so the usage obligation is with the tenant.

I lease this property out via an agent and of course have a signed lease agreement. I paid the water rates component of the bill and sent a letter to the water company with a copy of the lease agreement that shows the tenants name, when they moved in and of course the agents details and explained that it is a rental property and I am not obligated for usage charges, so please bill the tenant and have a nice day.

Now the water company are hounding me to cough up for usage charges because I am the owner of the property, I explained to them over the phone that I have given them all the relevant details of the tenant and the agent so please send the account to them .. but they persist!!

The amount of money is only 40 bucks - but heavens sake - It's the principle.

What needs to transpire for the water company to start billing the tenant and why has the usage account defaulted to me?

Do I register a complaint with the water and energy ombudsmen - would that help?


Wombat

 

[Goofy]

the water board wont ever back date water usage, they will only add the tenants details from 'x' date onwards. As the water bill is in your name then you are best to pay the bill yourself and then get your PM to send the tenant a copy of the bill (with your address blacked out) and advising them they owe $x for water usage and sewage disposal. They can add a charge to the tenants ledger so they can keep a track of when it has been paid and then when it is transfer the reimbursement to you.

I am surprised your PM hasn't already recommended this way to you already. Unfortunately all water boards are HOPELESS at updating their records... i have never seen any other organisations more frequently not receive faxes, emails or update the details on the phone when you give them to them!

Moving forward future accounts should be split and the rates sent to you and the water usage and sewage disposal sent directly to the tenant.

 

[Sez]

I agree with goofy but for one aspect. The Act in Victoria allows the landlord to invoice the tenant for any utility charges incorrectly received by the landlord. So in this situation I suggest that my landlords do the following: Pay the $40 usage, ensure your PM contacts the water board (most likely AGAIN) and advises them of all of the tenants details. Then, have your PM issue the tenant with an invoice for water usage to be paid by the tenants. If the tenants are issued with an official invoice + letter from your PM & their agency it will probably kick them into action more so than a bill with someone elses name on it. It will also be recorded on their file so it will be flagged as outstanding until the day it is paid.

When a tenant moves out of a property they are renting, their details are provided to the water board for billing at their new address. They automatically remove the persons details from the property and the bills default back to the owner. when a new tenant occupies the property the PM is to fill in a form (fax or online) and submit it to the water board so future usage can be issued to the new tenant. This is how the bill would have been transferred back to your name.

As Goofy said, water companies are really very well known for their astounding abilities to loose all correspondence sent to them (they never loose track of the bills they're sending out though)! Any other business would have been shut down due to poor performance if they tried half the things they do! So quite often we find ourselves notifying the water company of a new tenants details several times.

You can attempt a complaint with the water and energy ombudsman if you wish but I think you will find that as the problem can be rectified inside the law for yourself it may not get too far.

Good luck!!

 

[wombat]

Thanks Goofy and Sez,

I hear you - in fact this had happened previously a few years back and I had to go back to the agent and they kept telling me that they had re-contacted the water company to get their records updated.

...Ahhhhh what the heck - since the water co. are trying to bully me with their legal letters for non payment and I haven't received a written acknowledgement of the info that I have sent them, I have registered a complaint with the energy and water Ombudsman. If the water co. don't want to take me seriously then I think they will pay more attention to the Ombudsman.

By the sounds of things - it may not get me far but at least it makes me feel a little better!


Lets see what happens!!

wombat

 

[Sez]

Good Luck! It would be GREAT to hear that someone has finally made the water co. own up to their poor procedures! Would love to hear the outcome of that complaint!

I would be inclined to believe your PM regarding their continued contact, I've once had to send 7 emails, 4 faxes and make 12 phone calls for just one tenants details to be registered....not that I'm holding a grudge to remember those figures........

This happened with S.E W but as far as I'm concerned they are all the same!!

Still issue your tenants with an invoice though - you don't want your credit rating having a big black mark for the sake of $40!!

 

[travelbug]

Is this a VIC thing? Up until the rules changed this year I always received the water bill. I paid it then I photocopied it and sent it to the agent and they got the usage amount from the tenant. It's on the lease that they pay water usage. They just pay on top of their rent.

Now you can only charge usage if it is water compliant.

 

[devank]

I think the water companies have better things to do than figuring out who the tenant is and going through record management million times! Tenants move in and out. Water is not something you can simply connect and disconnect like power or gas. Imagine the unnecessary workload they need to go through water usage calculations for each tenant and deal with bill proportion disputes!
I would rather them providing good quality water and take away our wastes than doing the paper work for you!

Simple way is to tell the water bills to be addressed to your PM. Then they can take the money out from the rent to pay for the bill and pass the usage cost to the tenants.

 

[Goofy]

sorry but there isnt much paperwork involved.... add tenants details to system, the water usage and sewage disposal goes to tenant and rates go to owner it isnt rocket science!

Perhaps using that logic i have tenants moving in and out of properties all the time, maybe i should just only sign leases for every second tenant and collect the rent every few months.. would save me a lot of paperwork! Perhaps the electrical companies should do the same because tenants are moving and and out of properties all the time!

 

[devank]

How do you suggest the water company to disconnect the supply and sewerage when it is vacant? There is no switch to turn it off or plug a wire out!
Why do you think owners of the property get water bill but the residents get all other bills?
How many people do they need to employ if they have to make all the changes you asked for (and also get written permission from tenants) for millions of properties! I won't be happy to pay for their wages through my tax!

Anyway, this is not my battle...

 

[Sez]

How do you suggest the water company to disconnect the supply and sewerage when it is vacant? There is no switch to turn it off or plug a wire out!
Why do you think owners of the property get water bill but the residents get all other bills?
How many people do they need to employ if they have to make all the changes you asked for (and also get written permission from tenants) for millions of properties! I won't be happy to pay for their wages through my tax!

Anyway, this is not my battle...

Hey Devank, the water is never disconnected at a property. When a tenant moves out the water bill is transferred to the owner until the water co. is informed of new tenant details. The tenants sign for connection on their application form, or, when they are in the office signing the leases we have them sign a water application form so the usage bills go directly to them. This is then entered into their system. No more work than changing tenants electricity bill, perhaps even less as you have pointed out, it isn't switched off and on, simply a change of billing details.

 

[shaleejam]

We have rented two properties in Victoria and both times the water bills arrived in our name?

We have rented in other states and OS but never received a water bill in our name before, it was always done via the PM.

I hope that doesn't mean it will be hard to take our name off the bills when we move again soon.

ps: Also a bit miffed as to why your tenants water bill was only $40 and ours is over $160!

 

[Sez]

We have rented two properties in Victoria and both times the water bills arrived in our name?

We have rented in other states and OS but never received a water bill in our name before, it was always done via the PM.

I hope that doesn't mean it will be hard to take our name off the bills when we move again soon.

ps: Also a bit miffed as to why your tenants water bill was only $40 and ours is over $160!

The water bills should arrive in your name if renting in VIC. Once the water company receives your details for the new property then you should have your name removed from the current address. If you are worried then contact the water company advising them of your move out date from your current address. They will make a note on file for you final reading.

 

[shaleejam]

If you are worried then contact the water company advising them of your move out date from your current address. They will make a note on file for you final reading.

thank you

 

[Doovalacky]

ps: Also a bit miffed as to why your tenants water bill was only $40 and ours is over $160!

Mine averages $40, tenants have ranged from $100 to a staggering ~$500. Never understood how some can use so much water, especially when the gardens are native easycare with auto timer.
Funny enough its always the ones who turn the irrigation off that use the most..

 

[shaleejam]

Mine averages $40, tenants have ranged from $100 to a staggering ~$500. Never understood how some can use so much water, especially when the gardens are native easycare with auto timer.
Funny enough its always the ones who turn the irrigation off that use the most..

sorry to ask in this thread but can you confirm if that $40 is monthly or quarterly? Our bill is for 3 months and we are a bit bamboozled as we are big on saving water in our house, timing showers, we don't have gardens to water and we use the dishwasher and washing machine once a day when needed (for full loads only)

This is our first house with ducted cooling so we wonder if that might be the reason? We notice water gushes out of the outdoor pipe when it's on but after checking with our agent if this is normal she did not get back to us so we presumed it is??

 

[Sez]

sorry to ask in this thread but can you confirm if that $40 is monthly or quarterly? Our bill is for 3 months and we are a bit bamboozled as we are big on saving water in our house, timing showers, we don't have gardens to water and we use the dishwasher and washing machine once a day when needed (for full loads only)

This is our first house with ducted cooling so we wonder if that might be the reason? We notice water gushes out of the outdoor pipe when it's on but after checking with our agent if this is normal she did not get back to us so we presumed it is??

Define gushing? Some water coming out of the pipe is a regular occurance but you really shouldn't have a raging river in the back of the property....

Doovalacky - $500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly fell off my chair when I read THAT!

 

[shaleejam]

Define gushing? THAT!

enough water rushing through the enclosed pipe that it spills out the seam at and runs down the outside of the pipe...its also very noisy. We can't see how much water gushes out as the pipe is fully enclosed. Might need to follow this up with the agent I think. Thank you

 

[Sez]

If you're not sure then yes, follow it up. Better to be safe than sorry .

 

[Doovalacky]

Sounds like you have an evaporative system it will flush water for about 5 mins when it first starts to cool the unit. After that it only is supposed to flush every couple hours to dump salty water buildup.

If its a breezeair they have a really poor design on the "solenoid" that does this. Two micro switches worth a couple bucks die so they charge you $300 for a new valve. When it dies it continuously flushes water and the unit after about 10mins comes up with a service 2 fault.

Edit: $40 is for quarter. Water corp even replaced my meter about a year ago I noticed without telling me and it still has remained about that.
Sez, when I saw it I fell over to. Quickly arranged a visit thinking had a leak somewhere but all OK. Funny thing was the small lawn was dead almost and a lot of the plants were struggling due to lack of water.

 

[Sez]

Doovalacky - you are a wealth of knowledge! That is certainly information that I will retain!

The gardens were almost dead? Was the house and your tenants sparkling clean?? You would hope so!