I have a four plex and I am wondering what the opinions are of sticking with one water meter vs submetering and letting folks pay for their own water? There are dish washers in each unit and washer hook ups. Thank you
I have a four plex and I am wondering what the opinions are of sticking with one water meter vs submetering and letting folks pay for their own water? There are dish washers in each unit and washer hook ups. Thank you
Depends on if the actual water pipes are separate between units. Often in fourplex, all the piping is mixed so it is not possible to meter separately. There may be one or two water heaters feeding the entire building, etc. The other option is RUBS billing where you assign a percentage of the water bill to each unit based on size or occupancy. I personally think that is too much hassle and hard to make it fair. Whether they pay $1000 rent and $50 water bill or pay you $1050 makes no difference in the cost of living in the unit. The only advantage of separate meters is that it encourages conservation. You can do that other ways, like increasing rent and telling tenants it is due to high water usage. Installing low flow shower heads, low flush toilets, low flow faucets are other ways to reduce usage. Also consider what is common in your area. Most apartments and fourplex in my city include water and garbage (many even include heat). If you are not including comparable services, your rent price needs to be lower.
Thank you. That makes sense. I will monitor the water bill for now. We just renovated and the apartments are empty. As we rent them I will see what happens to the water usage over 12 months.