Who pays the Water bill?

Question

Currently my tenant pays his own utilities except water. I pay the water bill for the whole house. Am I responsible for paying the water bill in my duplex? Or should the tenant pay? I reside in PA.

Account Closed · Answer

I always had a rule regarding water bills.  In my apartments, or duplexes or multi-family units I paid the water bill.

HOWEVER......I knew how much the water bills ran each month.  And I knew that some tenants would invite their families over to use their washing machine, or wash their cars in the summer.

THEREFORE, if the water bill went up I would send each unit a letter stating that the water bill has increased, and if it increases again for next month, their rent would have to be raised in order to cover the water usage.  Needless to say they kept their water usage down!

You see you can't pin point who is using how much water.  One person may take a shower or bath three times a day  and use water all day long.  While another family may never take a bath (PU) but once a week, or is hardly at home.  So you just can't even base it on how many people are living in the unit.

Now....in my Single Family Homes.  I had the tenants be responsible for the water bill.

However, because in Michigan, if the tenants do not pay the water bill, the utility company will  put the bill on the Landlords Tab.  So....in order to nip that in the bud, I would pay for the water bill, and then I would bill the tenant for the water usage. (A reimbursable billing)  If they didn't pay, I deducted the water bill from their rent, which made their rent late.

Now...this is stipulated in the lease agreement, that any rent received is applied to any outstanding bills they have with me.  I go over it with them at the signing of the lease.

So there you have it.

Nancy Neville

Michael Herr · Answer

Well your lease states you pay the water, or at least the tenants currently have that expectation.

For next tenants you could change it. I've heard of landlords assigning half the water bill to each tenant,  or charging based on ratio of sqft,  or other method of passing on the cost to tenants.

That seems sketchy to me and possibly not legal (check local rules)

RUBS os a method for a third party to install water meters,  bill tenants for actual usage, but you are ultimately on the hook for the bill with the water co.

I briefly looked into rubs and it didn't seem cost effective for a duplex.

Is the duplex a conforming building that started as a duplex? Is the plumbing fairly seperated where it would be possible to individually meter?

Having the water company put on a second meter would be my preference,  but probably isn't feasible.

You are probably stuck paying water (and factoring that into rent) for this property.