Landlords in the dark

[PC]

New landlord Vicky Crawford has been inadvertently passing on the full Watercare Services bill to her tenants - unaware a portion of it was hers to pay.

"I had no idea," she said, when told of the matter this week.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10900957

You mean it's not like the power bill, sky bill, phone bill?
How strange.

[muppet]

Yep.
Paying for water she doesn't use.
Perhaps she should ask Watercare for a credit
for the water she is not using.

I am glad I got rid of my Auckland property earlier this year.
B........ paying for water I don't use.

[Wayne]

In Hamilton we pay in the rates so I am still paying for water I don't use.

[muppet]

And you build the cost into the rent charged.

[Wayne]

sure do - just one of those costs that is or isn't in the rent. Like how would I know if it is built in - I charge what the market will bear (doesn't mean excessively but people pay) but the rent doesn't totally cover costs.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Orewa wasn't always seperate water charge. I used to pay in the rates (therefore oin the rent), seperate charge came in and rates went down but I pass the water cost (not fixed charge) on to the tenants but didn't reduce the rent by the same amount (or at all).

Really rent and costs have a loose association - you can try to charge more as costs go up but the market still prevails.

[Wayne]

"I had no idea," she said, when told of the matter this week.

a good reason for having a professional PM - they should have an idea. Ignorance is no excuse!

[Shalodge]

Water, unlike power and telephone, is a property service like storm water and wastewater. It is a targeted rate and usually has a portion based on consumption (metered) and a portion based on availability (fixed charge or rate in the $). As a rate it is the responsibility of the legal "ratepayer' who may or may not be the tenant.Tenants are only obliged to pay for services that can be measured. E.g power, phone and the consumption portion of water. They can be billed for the metered portion but they are not liable under the Rating Act to pay it .. the 'ratepayer' is.

Landlords (if they are the ratepayer for the property) are not being charged for water they don't use.. just the fixed cost of having it available to the property. This is the same as wastewater. Landlords don't use that either but it is still paid by them as it cannot be measured otherwise the tenant would pay.

You can build it into the rent like the rates and other fixed (non measured) property expenses but there is a limit set by the market. Passing on 'extra' costs like water, rates, rubbish collection are really just attempts to disguise higher revenue.. i.e "The rent is 'only $250 per week ... but ...there are a few 'expenses' .. just like power and phone .. there is water, sewerage, rubbish, library, swimming pool .. after all I don't use any of that!!"

[PC]

So consumption part & supply part - so same as power?
Oh and the same as phone?

Guess I'll have to use gov'mnt thinking to go figure that one!

[donna]

Our PM is saying don't be surprised if PMs get out before the metering kicks in - in Kapiti. They will endure lots more work for no more reward and it's likely being a PM may be considered too unrewarding.

cheers,

Donna

[flyernzl]

. . . wastewater. Landlords don't use that either but it is still paid by them as it cannot be measured otherwise the tenant would pay.

Not true.

In the most of the Watercare area, wastewater is deemed to be a set percentage (70% ?) of the water consumed.
It is therefore a variable, dependent on water consumed, and thus is legally payable by the tenant.

Accepting (for now) that the LL pays the fixed charge and the tenant pays the variable, the crux of the problem is that although Watercare will accept commercial tenants as customers they will not accept residential tenants as customers. Only the Landlord.

The obvious solution is for Watercare to send out two invoices - one to the LL for the fixed portion and one to the tenant for the variable portion. This would permanently remove any confusion.

However, this would require Watercare to try and get tenants to pay their bills rather than exercising their monopoly power and conscripting the services of Landlords to act as their unpaid debt collectors.

[Perry]

Ssshhhh - the electricity suppliers
might pick up on the same scam.

[sidinz]

Having worked with the lady in question, I will simply limit myself to the comment that I'm not exactly surprised that she was in the dark about something.

[Keys]

Are you suggesting that she gets a lot of work done "in the dark"?

[sidinz]

Are you suggesting that she gets a lot of work done "in the dark"?

Hahahaha! No.

[Leftette]

One of my PM's pays the entire bill on my behalf then adds the tenant's share to their rent stmt and removes my share from my monthly statement. Simples.