Have you split up the water meter on your 4-plex?

Question

I'm looking to pass the water expenses on to my tenants. How much does it cost to separately meter the water on a 4-plex? Who should I call? a plumber? How much do you think this would cost? I appreciate the input! I have one 4plex in las vegas and one in california.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

You can also have a plumber install sub-meters. SEE EXAMPLE This is a much cheaper option than installing three new meters.

Even easier? Figure out the average water use, divide it by four, add 10 - 15% to cover excess use, and add that amount to their rent.

Average bill: $60

Divide by 4 = $15 each

Add 15%: $17.25

You collect $69 per month to cover the bill. I also recommend setting a limit of what you will cover. For example:

"Water is included as part of your monthly rent, up to $20 per unit. If any single water bill exceeds $80, the additional cost will be split equally and charged to the four units."

This holds tenants responsible if they fail to report a running toilet that costs you $300 in excess water use.

Steve Morris · Answer

What we did is buy individual flow meters for each unit.  If you have easy access to the main water into the unit (rare) then you put them in line with the feed to the HW heater.  Idea is that if A uses 100 gal HW and B uses 200 gal, then B pays twice as much on the pro-rate.

My friend is a plumber and helped me, but if you can cut the feed line, put in the flow meter with no-leak connections, it's something you can do yourself.

Mine were twisted pair connect to an outside parallel meter in a lockbox.  However, most are WiFi now.  Figure about $200/unit for the submeter and $1K for the WiFi hub + Internet.

Tom Fidrych · Answer

Yes, you will need to call a plumbing company(actually, get 3 bids minimum) and the cost is a function of what they will need to do to separate the systems. This cost could vary greatly depending upon how the existing system is configured. You will also be looking at potentially large fees to add an additional 3 water meters. Your jurisdiction will likely charge each meter a new connection fee even though you are not causing a net increase in usage.

I separated a duplex in Oregon and was to be charged $4,000 for a new connection fee and another $2,500 to install the meter. Since the tenants were low income, I somehow managed to convince them to waive the new connection fee as this would promote conservation and lower their bills. The rest of it was easy since a 3/4" T line split to each unit where they joined the line coming into the duplex.

Have you split up the water meter on your 4-plex?

Most Popular Reply