Water leak who pays

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

keiko
Participant
@keiko
Join Date: 2008
Post Count: 513
June 8, 2012 - 2:14 am
I had a water leak in one of my rental properties and received the bill which is double last years bill, the water company gave a 50% reduction on the extra water lost, now I am left with a bill of $250 for lost water,
Who would pay this, my tenant or me?
Neither I or the tenant were aware of the leak, the water company picked it up when they read the water meter and they sent out a notice saying check for leaks, which I did and then had the leak repaired.
luke86
Participant
@luke86
Join Date: 2010
Post Count: 470
June 8, 2012 - 5:21 am
Sounds like you pay it. It is not the tenants fault that there was a water leak as it was due to general wear and tear on the property.
Cheers,
Luke
Kristin Simondson PBRE
Member
@kristin-simondson-pbre
Join Date: 2012
Post Count: 86
June 8, 2012 - 5:30 am
Hi Keiko,
Unfortunately this is one for you, not the tenant. Do they usually pay water usage or have you included it in the rental? If they usually pay usage, make sure you calculate their portion of usage and forward that charge to them before paying the bill.
I would calculate usage like this:
Last bill total / number of days in month = daily usage
daily usage x number of days in month = deduction from the current bill
The formula is not 100% accurate but it is the closet you'll get and it is how we calculate usage for Corporate Tenancies where utilities are included.
keiko
Participant
@keiko
Join Date: 2008
Post Count: 513
June 8, 2012 - 6:18 am
Cool thanks for that
Invest to Retire
Member
@invest-to-retire
Join Date: 2012
Post Count: 6
June 8, 2012 - 8:57 pm
Yes, the water leak would be your responsibility, not the tenant’s as it falls under the category of home repairs.
thecrest
Participant
@thecrest
Join Date: 2004
Post Count: 992
June 10, 2012 - 12:33 am
You don’t mention if the lease agreement requires the tenant to pay water by the meter or not.
Either way, it’s not the tenant’s cost unless the tenant caused the leak by negligence or had knowledge of a leak and did not report it.
This means that if the tenant is supposed to pay water by meter, the tenant is being charged water by some guesswork method other than strictly by the meter.
Unfortunately as far as the tenant is concerned, the water consumption amount on the meter reading is now officially not what the tenant used. Not a good position to argue in a Tribunal so good to gain some written agreement quickly with the tenant and as painful as it is, I’d pay it before someone gets in their ear to contest it.
Cheers
thecrest
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