I will be leasing out my first IP shortly and I'm just wondering about a particular issue. There are 4 units on the block all sharing one meter (which is divided by 4). But when the unit is rented out is this an issue, or will the water company deal with it. Has anyone come across this?
Hello Virgininvestor
My understanding is that unless the place has it's own meter you, as the owner, will have to pay the water usage charge as well as the service chargers which you will be paying anyway. If it is on it's own meter then the water company can send the water usage charge directly to the tenant. At least that is the situation in Melb.Hope this helps
ElkaThanks Elka!
Yeah thats what I had suspected and been told, so if this is the case how have landlords dealt with it in the past?
1. Do increase the rent (I thought this might scare some people off seeing a much higher advertised rent)
2. Forward the bill to tenant of Agent (But if they fail to pay its your name on the bill?)Any advice would be great!
Hello Virgininvestor
Unfortunately I don't believe that you are allowed to ask the tenant to pay the usage charge without a separate meter.
I think you have 2 options.
Cater for it in the rent and advertise it as "water charges included" or something. But as you say, if you ask too much extra you will have a hard time renting the place out quickly.
and/or
See if you can persuade the 3 other owners to have the meters split. If yours is not the only unit being rented out then it may be easier to achieve.
I own two units ( the only two on the block) which were on the one meter and just paid the usage charges for my tenants.
However last year, with the constantly increasing water bill, I decided to have the meters split. I should actually have done this years ago as it was less expensive and complicated than I thought. I had the meter split into 3. One for each unit and one for the common garden area which I still have to pay. On the 3rd meter there are no service charges as fortunately there is no toilet involved…. just the garden. It cost me about $580 to get this done.
Maybe you can get a couple of quotes for doing this and then present the case for splitting out the meters to the other owners. If there is a common garden area then you may need 5 meters. If so, check with your water authority about service charges for the fifth meter.
Let us know how you go.
ElkaHey Elkam,
Thanks so much for your advice. I'm going to call the water authority tomorrow (Yarra Vally), I'm also in Melbourne. Unfortunately when I spoke to my future PM (Have signed up but no tenants for a month or so) he did not really make sense and mentioned something about the Body Corp can split the bill, but like you said I don't think this is legal. I will double check with the PM and might ask my BC for advice.
My PPOR is also in a block of 4 units and we also share one meter (those blasted developers from 30 years ago!!!!), the situation is the same were we get a bill already divided by 4, the BC here had a quote for separate meters a few years ago but it was close to about $5000-$6000 I think, yours seem quite cheap. I think mine is expensive because it would required much labour in digging and concrete work.
Was the works difficult on your units e.g (much digging or under concrete)?
My two units are both ground floor with little gardens, one behind the other. People seem to call apartments units too now a days. The water meter was in the front of the property and turned out to be quite easy to split. No concrete had to be dug up. I was lucky.
I think it's worth contacting Yarra Vally and also getting another plumber out for a quote. He may see a way that does not involve digging up a lot of concrete. Is there a plumber that the BC uses for all plumbing issues? He should be the most familiar with how everything is connected. However if he is the one who gave the original quote, if you like, I can PM you the name of the plumber who did my job. I find him good and reasonable but I don't know how far away you are from the area he works in. My place is in Caulfield.
Cheers
ElkaHey
I spoke to my PM and Yarra Vally water today and found out the following
1. Yarra Vally said I was liable to pay both service charges and usage as there is only one meter. They will not split the bill or arrange usage payments for the tenants.
2. The PM did some ringing around to fellow PM for some advice (I was surprised this is not more common considering there are a number of similar unit blokes in and around my area which is Ringwood). He came back to me with that under the Tenancy Act the Landlord is liable to pay both service charge and usage just like the water authority told me. The PM told me that other landlord usually add between $5-10 p/w (about$130 per qu. bill) extra rent to cover this in the short term (till seperate meters).
So, I guess it is solved now, I have added an extra $10 per week, not ideal as the advertised price is a little higher then most in my area but it will be highlighted on the add that all water bill is included.
I will raise the issue of seperate meters at the next GM of BC and might request a quote so I will keep your offer in mind.
Thanks for your help, I know it seems a small issue but it was interesting and I'm surprised not much is said about it.
Cheers
Hi,
This is obviously an okld thread but relevant for my situation.
Basically, i've bought an older apartment in a block of 8 that has one meter. My question is, what would be a rough estimate $ to install 8 separate meters for the block? Has anyone been in a similar situation? I'll obviuosly run this by all the owners, but was just wondering if any one has been in a similar situation for a job this size?
Cheers
It depends on the concrete situation, but also where the meters are going to be positioned. If they have to go in rear courtyards that the water-meter-reading person cannot get to, then you have to get a radio-controlled meter. They are about $310 and a regular non-radio-controlled is a little cheaper. Then you have to pay plumber labour to split the lines. You would have to ask your plumber to get a visual on the situation and give you an idea of the amount of effort and materials he/she thinks will be involved.
Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeVIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.
Also now (in NSW) you can only charge water usage if it has compliant taps. ie tested to less than 9lt per minute. Bathroom, kitchen (but not if a flick mixer). Correct me if that's incorrect).
It's actually written on the new management agreements.
Yeah Catalyst is rite.
I was a property manager for 5 years and I saw a couple of the following cases.
One strata company installed individual water meters for each unit.
One landlord owned a duplex with a single meter and had a second one installed,
There were 4 townhouses each individually metered but for some reason sydney water didn't individualise the meter reading despite the meter right outside the front door.Anyway if you want the tenants to pay water usage it needs to be specified on the lease and as Catalyst said, check the rules on water use such as water saving taps.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
