Watch your plumbing fixtures!
I'm on my first rental property.My water bill comes quarterly. A few months after my tenants moved in I got a call from the water company and they said "you're water usage has spiked from your previous billing period, you may want to check for leaks or a running toilet". I figured that makes sense, The house sat vacant for over a year before I bought it. I appreciated the heads up. The bill came and it was over $200. I had no way to know if that was right or not. Four people live in the house. seemed like a lot of money but who knows. The next time I stopped by the house, I noticed one of the toilets was running. Not a lot but very slightly. Minor adjustment to the flapper and it stopped. I asked how long that was going on: "oh a while I guess". We then had a talk about letting me know when something like that is happening. I just got my next water bill: $60. Lesson learned. Check your fixtures folks, and make sure your tenants understand when there is a potential problem. It amazes me how much water was wasted with a slightly leaking toilet.
- why aren't you billing that back to the tenant?
Originally posted by @Bryan Williamson:
- why aren't you billing that back to the tenant?
On what basis?
It's my understanding that in New York the landlord is responsible for providing water. Being a noob, I could be mistaken. Even if that is the case I would wait until the lease is renewed to change that.
it very well could be. I live in Astoria and sunny side but we lived in large buildings so water was included because there's no way to have separate meters for everyone. But it didn't sound like that was your case so that's why I asked .
Two tenants with leaking bathroom faucets doubled the water usage for 6 units from 100 gallons/person/day to 200/ gallons. I am amazed what leaks can do. I have been tracking use over the past month and each fix helps . Next apartment turnover we are getting another low flow toilet which also has a big impact. I hate to take out a good functional toilet but they are also water hogs.
Good for you that the water company called.
That's why it's always a good idea to change those things out, right away on any new properties. Saves a lot of headache in the long run.
I have worked on several rentals where the owners were leaving money on the table, by being cheap.
Don't be cheap.
Originally posted by @Carl C.:
It's my understanding that in New York the landlord is responsible for providing water.
Yikes ~ With the cost of utilities rising daily it seems, this would be a HUGE pitfall for me here in Tennessee. Are you sure it doesn't depend on the housing? SFH vs MFH or Mix Use?
As for the original OP, I agree! Plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems! I pull irrigation systems upon buying a home, and check all toilets & faucets prior to renting. I've been known to change flapper valves as new tenants are moving in :)
If you sign up for Automatic Meter Reading in NYC, you can see the water use online.