Sacramento - anyone having tenants pay for water?

Question

Are any Sacramento landlords having the tenants pay for water for SFRs?

I've always considered Sacramento a 'landlord pays for water/sewer/garbage' city. I never paid it when I was a renter, and as such, I pay for it all on my rentals. I assume this could change as meters start being activated more.

I noticed not all craigslist ads mention it, so I thought I'd take an informal sampling on BP.

Penny Clark · Answer

@Frank Lienert, Yes I have seen more ads on Craigslist that say water, garbage and sewage must be paid by the tenant. I don't recommend it to my clients or to owner-managers because of the threat of liens. I think landlords who do this either keep a tight rein on their tenants and stay on top of it or they are ignorant about the consequences.

Chris Vail · Answer

@Derek Daun on my rental the tenant pays for all utilities, which includes water sewer and garbage.  I had no problem with renting out my unit.  Obviously like @David Hutson said above you are still ultimately responsible for the costs so if the tenant doesn't pay you need to handle that.  My tenants have paid on time every month, and it was a fairly straight forward process to add them to the bill so it comes to the tenant at the address with their name on it.

David Hutson · Answer

In Elk Grove it is a two minute request on the phone or in the office and it comes automatically every month when they send the tenant their copy.  Mine is exactly like theirs except it states "COPY" across the front.

Derek Daun · Answer

@David Hutson

Is it a straight forward process to have a copy of water bill sent to you?

David Hutson · Answer

Afternoon,

I am in Sacramento and Elk Grove.

I have all of my SFR units paying their own water.  Most of them are metered.  For a few tenants where the water bill is part of the overall utility bill I provide them with the water portion so they can see I am not making up charges, if they ask.

In Elk Grove I require all of the tenants to go to the water district office and sign up in their name and have the water district send me a copy of the bill each month.  I am liable for the water bill if the tenant doesn't pay so I do not let them get behind and do not provide them their full deposit upon move out until the water bill is settled.

I find that I can get a higher rent as they usually think about their rent separate so they don't consider the overall cost.  I do tell them what the water bill averages and that it will depend on how much they use.  Overall I think I get $20-30 more a month overall in rent due to this.

Jennifer L. · Answer

I'm not in Sacramento, but I rent a SFR in San Jose.  I just switched from providing water on my previous lease to having my new tenants pay the water bill. I think in light of the drought, it is the only way to ensure responsible water use from our tenants.  I had no problem leasing my home with this provision, though it is in a high demand neighborhood.

Krissie Dempsey · Answer

I'm a new landlord of 3 single family homes in Arden arcade and Tahoe park area of Sac.

I do charge the tenants for all utilities including garbage and sewer.It is after all its thier usage.

I had rented my home in the bay area where it's common that its always the tenants responsibility to pay for all. It was never included in the rent.

I think that it may have been a little different in Sacramento however I do think things are changing as the rental market is very competitive up there now. I had no problem renting my 3 homes up there right after they closed escrow in may this year.  It literally took 1 week of advisement to rent all three. And my son bought 2 homes in Tahoe park and agian rented right away at top dollar. We both do however give all of the tenants a 25.00 water credit for the sprinklers  to keep the landscaping nice for them and us and not have to haggle over that or have someone turn off the automatic system to save on the water bill. This has worked well for all of our  tenants and for us. I'm certain with the housing market up there being so hot you will see more and more landlords structuring it this way. It works well .No one has to be on th hook for anything that may not have been dicussed or ncorrectly anticipated with regards to someone's usage. And its normally done that way in strong rental markets like the bay area so most of the potenal renters are use to that anyway .I predict the Sacramento rental market will change alot this year and in the next 3 to 5 years along with the rising home prices and low inventory on avalible homes to purchase.Sacramento rental market may get some growing pains.

Avi Saldanha · Answer

For my rentals the utilities are in my name and I pay them directly but bill the tenants and let them know the usage every month ....

Minka Sha · Answer

for those who are paying the water on their own but bill the tenants, how do you do that? Can you elaborate?

Marie Murphy · Answer

yes.  we bill all our tenants for the owner paid water/sewer/garbage bill.

Sacramento - anyone having tenants pay for water?

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