Water leak - who pays?

[pl]

Pretty sure there's a water leark in the apartment which is tenanted. Water bill is 10 x normal. Told Pty manager to get it checked out a month ago, but they assumed it was a dripping cistern, and have done nothing further. Water bill now $1000. Must be something else that is leaking. Is tenant still responsible for the water bill?

[Tan]

Call the council. They will probably find and fix the leak & credit some of the bill. THen work out who pays - probably the landlord for the repair & the tenant for a normal water bill.

[essence]

Told Pty manager to get it checked out a month ago,

Did you write a letter to the PM when you told them of the leak?? If not, it doesn't matter but makes it easier to prove that you have advised them, if there's a dispute later on.

... but they assumed it was a dripping cistern, and have done nothing further. Water bill now $1000. Must be something else that is leaking.

Ring the PM and advise them of what has happened ie your current water bill and also advise them that you will be following up your notification in writing (email will do).

Say something like "Since we advised you on XXXX date and no plumbers have been there to sort out this issue, we hold you responsible for paying the water account." THAT will definitely get a reaction!!!

Be polite but firm.

Is tenant still responsible for the water bill?

I take it that you're the owner of the apartment?? What's your normal arrangement for paying the water account? Does the tenant pay the PM, who then pays you and you pay the account? Just guessing. If that is the case, then you'd have to pay the account and then TRY and recover the money from the tenant.

Glenn from Nelson had an interesting situation whereby the water consumption in a dwelling shot up when a new tenant moved in. It turned out that the tenant had OCD and was continually washing and showering. If this is the case, then the tenant pays the account. Hard to prove??

I'll see if I can find the link to his post and the TT order.

[Tan]

Is the tenant aware, and refusing to pay? Does P use water?

In our situation, the council contacted us to notify that "there seemed to be a water leak'' and what to do.

[pl]

Is the tenant aware, and refusing to pay? Does P use water?

It did cross my mind!

[Tan]

If they aren't complaining, there must be a reason!

[CJ]

Is the tenant aware, and refusing to pay? Does P use water?

Hydroponics? It is a shame you dont know their power consumption as well.

[pl]

To date, it seems the water meter is faulty, but building manager (it's an apartment) believes it's working fine. Perhaps a bit tempermental? Anyone one else had experiences with faulty apartment meters? Had a slight drip in the cistern in the month in question for about 4 days, but based on the water invoice, there would have been a leak of about 48,000 liters per day! And Body Corp Admin doesn't think there's an issue?? I see a Court date looming.

[Bob Kane]

Anyone one else had experiences with faulty apartment meters?

I have.
Water usage for a month was zero.
"Apparently the meters sometime stick and don't record anything" I was told.
I told them not to hurry with the repair of the meter.

[Shalodge]

Water meters almost never go faulty and when they do they under read not over read. Find it and watch it for a few minutes.. if it is rotating like a runnaway ferris wheel you might like to investigate further..

Large amounts of water use can only be a major leak that is flowing into a drainage system somewhere. You will need to find it. Council wont be waiving the bill if you dont get onto it asap..

[pl]

Did I forget to mention that the meters have a history of being faulty in this apartment block. They were changed a couple of years ago already. The meters for the apartments are just outside the door to the apartment so for that much water to leak out, it has to go somewhere. We are talking huge amounts of water. The water billed for the month is the equivalent of 1 person for over 4 years of normal usage.

[BusyLizzy]

Have you spoke to neighbours - are other people in the block having problems?

[pl]

No. Pty manager has another apartment that had some issues in Jan, but nothing seems to be done about that one. These aren't the council meters (which I believe are less prone to faults). These are ones installed in the building.

[flyernzl]

It would pay to check the electric hot water system.

If the thermostat jams on, it won't turn off the power to the heating element when the water in the cylinder reaches the preset temperature.
This means that the water continues to heat to almost boiling point, the safety valve at the top of the cylinder opens to let the excess pressure out, more water flows in the bottom again, and the water heats up once more to repeat the cycle on a non-stop basis.

This is detrimental to both power and water consumption, so check the overflow for signs of continual leakage.

[pl]

Seems the toilet cistern was leaking for 10days. Took PM's 10 days to get the toilet fixed, so requested them to pay some of the water bill. If you were the owner, would 10 days be acceptable to repair a contstantly leaking toilet? No, I don't think so. So off to take Quinovic to Court. Let them decide I guess.