Who pays for water?
- Thread starter Bon
- Start date
Tenant should pay for usage. Landlord liable for supply, sewerage, parks/gardens, etc.
Assuming you're in Sydney and you have a PM looking after this IP in Vic. Forward copies of the usage charges to the PM clearly showing dates to coincide with your tenant's lease and seek reimbursement from the tenant. Tenant needs to get the usage billing in their name and you should receive the supply/infrastrucutre charges in your name (or entity owning IP) to your mailing address.
Assuming you're in Sydney and you have a PM looking after this IP in Vic. Forward copies of the usage charges to the PM clearly showing dates to coincide with your tenant's lease and seek reimbursement from the tenant. Tenant needs to get the usage billing in their name and you should receive the supply/infrastrucutre charges in your name (or entity owning IP) to your mailing address.
Is this the same in Brisbane as well? We only just recently moved over into a split Rates vs Water bills.
Initially, because they were joined, I didn't both billing my tenants.
The water bills follow the rates by about 2 weeks,both will go to the title holders home,would be a lot better if they did post it too the person who's name is on the lease if they did some people find it easy to waste water till they find the have to pay for it..willair..
QLD properties: only if your property is water compliant and separately metered.
View Water Charging Fact Sheet: RTA: http://www.rta.qld.gov.au/zone_files/fact_sheets/water.pdf
I have a few owners who have set up access to their statements online and I go online each quarter and access this directly on their behalf. Or they email/post usage each rateable period. I recommend you provide this informtation to your property manager each time so they have a record on your property.
We had this situation too ... water bill for the IP was in our name, not tenants'.
This is what our PM said:
With regard to the water consumption, you may either pay the future water bills yourself and then send it to us for reimbursement by the tenants (ensuring you mark on them that you have paid them of course)
OR
Just send it to us and we will pay it out of your rental funds and then get the tenant to reimburse you. This option usually keeps all the expenses on the same statement. You can also send the rates to us and we can pay them on your behalf out of your rental funds. You may certainly scan and email
them if you wish.
OR
Alternatively you can have the Council send the bills to us direct.
This is what our PM said:
With regard to the water consumption, you may either pay the future water bills yourself and then send it to us for reimbursement by the tenants (ensuring you mark on them that you have paid them of course)
OR
Just send it to us and we will pay it out of your rental funds and then get the tenant to reimburse you. This option usually keeps all the expenses on the same statement. You can also send the rates to us and we can pay them on your behalf out of your rental funds. You may certainly scan and email
them if you wish.
OR
Alternatively you can have the Council send the bills to us direct.
We're paying barely $20 a quarter here for water usage and we aren't even *trying* to conserve it (after we discovered how cheap water was we stopped being frugal). Our bills still put us around the "one person with small garden" mark and there's 4 of us, and sometimes we have two very full baths a day, plus showers so the bills keep telling us off for progressively increased use 
If we rent out our current house, we'd be putting the meter reading on the initial inspection form and getting any tenants to initial it, wouldn't bother with a formal SA water reading.
IP is on rainwater and they have enough tanks and catchment there that there should be no issue but if the water runs out it costs $50 for 2000L and there's no way I'm paying for that, so I made this point very clear and specifically put a clause in the lease that any water they need delivered THEY pay for.
Best to get these things on the lease from day 1 by the sounds of it.
If we rent out our current house, we'd be putting the meter reading on the initial inspection form and getting any tenants to initial it, wouldn't bother with a formal SA water reading.IP is on rainwater and they have enough tanks and catchment there that there should be no issue but if the water runs out it costs $50 for 2000L and there's no way I'm paying for that, so I made this point very clear and specifically put a clause in the lease that any water they need delivered THEY pay for.
Best to get these things on the lease from day 1 by the sounds of it.
Had this situation with my problem tenants and I was assured all fund would be collected. It was forced to VCAT and the PM (at the time), settled for $250 for $1300 of water bills, before it actually went to hearing. Then of course she never came back to work there again, so we were screwed. Tried to get it readdressed but because that property manager had signed it on our behalf, we were stuffed.
I also tried everthing with the water company to get them to send it to the tenants, but until they called and signed it up in their name, the bills kept coming to me (too honest to think to call up on their behalf).
I'd be getting onto your PM asap to get action taken to recoup the usage funds and have the tenants part of the bill sent to them.
NOTE....if your in the western suburbs, just check your bill, as our part is huge, without the usage added, compared to other properties I've owned in the eastern suburbs.
I also tried everthing with the water company to get them to send it to the tenants, but until they called and signed it up in their name, the bills kept coming to me (too honest to think to call up on their behalf).
I'd be getting onto your PM asap to get action taken to recoup the usage funds and have the tenants part of the bill sent to them.
NOTE....if your in the western suburbs, just check your bill, as our part is huge, without the usage added, compared to other properties I've owned in the eastern suburbs.
