Water Fee & Fair Housing

[Andy Chen]

Good morning BPers.

My property is in CA. I need your advice. 

I have a unit which has 4 people on the contract and now it has 6 people. The original lease is including water. We found out the additional tenants due to higher water bill (not because of leaking).

Now the lease is up. My property manager said that it is discrimination against fair housing to charge water fee ($20~$30) per additional person. Also, can this additional water fee go beyond rent cap?

Thank you in advance.

Andy

[Nathan Gesner]

If you pay the water bill, then it is acceptable to charge additional money to cover the additional utility use. I don't think your PM is very smart.

Fair Housing protects certain groups from discrimination. If you charge extra water, is it because they use extra water, or is it because they are Chinese? Is it because they are lesbian? Are you charging more because they are disabled? No, you are charging more because they are using more and you would do the same no matter who occupies the home.

If water use increased by $40 then I would charge the tenants $50 - $60 to cover periods of excess use. Disclose it up front, make sure it's in writing, and have all parties sign.