Water Bill from LADWP is 5 to 7 Times Normal Rate

Los Angeles County, California
General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Water Bill from LADWP is 5 to 7 Times Normal Rate

Account Closed
Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 1 vote

Hello,

Our water bill is normally $600-800 for a 10 unit building every two months.  The last biill came in at around $4,000 and we can't figure out why.  We checked all of the units, the crawlspace, the basement/water heater, and the sprinkler heads.  One running toilet was found, but that wouldn't have caused such an increase on its own.  We also had LADWP come out and inspect the meters and they said that they were working normally.  Now I'm wondering what to do next.  The only thing that occurs to me is to check the pipe under the sidewalk that goes from the meter to our shutoff valve.  Thanks.

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
2y

Keep checking those toilets! One of them may have been running for weeks and then the tenant shut it off right before your inspection. In my experience, toilets are the culprit 90% of the time.

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  • Jeff S.
    Lender · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    2y

    We had a similar problem with a four-unit property, @Account Closed, though not as bad as yours.  Our bill went from around $180 per billing cycle to over $400 per billing cycle.

    First, check the sidewalk pipe as you suggested. You can do this by turning the shutoff valves off and watching to see if your water meter still runs. Notify your tenants first, of course.

    Second, does your property have any hose bibs? Even in the laundry room? Tenants and neighbors can use these to wash their cars. We sold before we solved our problem, but this was my chief suspicion. My next option was to remove these.

    Don’t forget to check your irrigation lines and valves as well, if you have any.

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 1 vote
    2y

    Thank you for responding, Jeff.  We closed the bibs that were being used by the homeless but one or two are still open for the gardener.  That's a good idea to close the shutoff valve to test the pipe under the sidewalk.  Thanks again.

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    2y

    Keep checking those toilets! One of them may have been running for weeks and then the tenant shut it off right before your inspection. In my experience, toilets are the culprit 90% of the time.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7247 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Alecia LovelessPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    2y

    @Jordan F. Double check the water heaters. Last night I heard about a friend who had their electric bill go from $100 per month to $800 per month because the landlord did a repair to two of them and cross wired them causing my friend’s to short and use 8X the amount of energy for the month.

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 1 vote
    2y

    Thank you both.  Fortunately, the electric bill has not been affected.  Today I went to look at the meter and I didn't see a constant usage that I thought would be a sign of a leak in the pipe between the meter and the shutoff valve.  The little triangle would start to turn for a while and then it would stop.  However, even when the triangle was turning, the numbers wouldn't move.  I'm going to go back in a week or two to take another look.

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