Renters: paying for water through submetering? (apartments, HOA, condo)

[Boose]

Hi all,
Just curious if any renters here are paying for their water through a third-party submetering firm (like Multifamily Utility Company). We haven't had a rent increase in 4 years, but were informed last month by our landlord that all 9 units will be paying for water soon via MUC. The net result may or may not be comparable to current rents; we're waiting to see how high the first bill is. Looks like this could be the "wave" of the future.

[oddstray]

I'm going to have to look into this! Our condo complex has shared meters, so the Association pays the water bill and the HOA dues are set to cover it. The Association looked into having individual meters installed, but the whole place would need to be virtually re-plumbed. So that's not gonna' happen.

Problem is, no individual unit has any motivation to conserve water usage.

[Boose]

Hi Oddstray,
I'll let ya know how it goes. MUC does charge a service fee to each tenant, that's how they make their profit. I'm under the impression that most of us in this complex do conserve water, but our hot H2O comes from one large tank and it can take a long time to get the hot H2O to the apartment. That's where the wastage is. DH and I often fill a watering can or rinse dishes while we wait for the hot H2O to come out.

[kettlepot]

It is the wave of the future. I believe it is required for new construction, and if a building is partially re-plumbed, individual metering is a required addition. I can't recall what the percentage of replumbing is. If it's 75%, or 51%, or what.

As an individual homeowner, I spend about $60 per month on water, and that includes a lot that gets some irrigation. That should provide some guidance on what to expect your individual cost to be.

[EscapeCalifornia]

I lived in an apartment that did that. Water/sewer/trash were divided up proportionally by the number of residents per unit. Supposedly, only domestic water was charged to residents while the landscaping and pools were covered by the management. My bill for a single person in a 1 bedroom apartment was around $25/mo. Most of that was sewer and trash. Water is actually pretty cheap since its hard to use that much water inside a home.

[LeisureMan]

Our apartments don't do that now, and nobody has said anything about it, but this management company we have now is doing all kinds of crazy stuff without really telling us until it's about to be or already in the process of being installed, so who knows.

I've been looking to move out of state and have noticed all of the apartments in the area I want to move to charge what I feel is a astronomically high charge for water/trash/sewer for common area use payable to the complex, on top of what you use indoors and payable to the local electric company. If this is the wave of the future in SD, then I guess I better get over it and stop making it an issue with moving...

[loveautumn]

My complex doesn't do this (yet) but with the plumbing structure the way it is, I think they could only charge a monthly fee based on say 1-2-3 bedroom units. It would be difficult to get it fair because one unit could only have one person and another unit might have 4-5 people living there so I don't see how they could charge the same fee for everybody. I really hope this doesn't come about!

I know this is done in alot of apt units back east, particularly DC area. I will be moving one of these years too so I have to remember to ask about these types of charges before committing because it can add up.

[Boose]

Thank you all for your helpful info and figures. I should have been clearer: we don't have individual meters (plumbing's too complicated), but we're going to have proportional charges based on bedrooms and occupants. I'm not wild about this but haven't seen cheaper apartments that I liked, either.
The landlord gave the tenants some (not all) new windows and balconies as a panacea before sending the letter about the water bills. %-)

[tonyinsd]

What may have happened is that the landlord has seen his water bill jump and he's seen usage go way up. So, he figures, okay, I was fine eating it when the bill was lower, but these guys don't seem to care about conserving water so I'm going to pass the cost along.

I can certainly understand that. I rent out property in the DC area. And I'm required to offer any tenant a two year lease. I do this, but I tell them if the HOA goes up by more than $50, I will pass that cost along to them.

What your landlord is doing is no different.

[Boose]

I agree, Tony - although the leak in the laundry room wall probably isn't helping any!