Landlord use some of tenants water...???

[TomW]

Hi,
We (the landlord) use a hose at the rental property to wash down a fence (we did not ask for the tenants permission to use the hose). The tenants are claiming we should refund them for the water use.
What is the best way to compensate them? The tenant says they will only accept if we somehow work out the exact amount.(which is not possible)

[Nick G]

A fence on their property that they're getting the enjoyment out of being clean?? Sheesh....

I'd tell them the alternative is you hire a cleaning company, bill them for it, and they'd still have to stump up for the water. But that's just me being pissy.

[Keys]

Compensate them by paying for full water use for the period you used the small amount. Learn and move on.

[artemis]

Offer a $20 bill folded inside a 90 day notice. If they are so pernickety about something small, you may be in for a rough ride!

[The_Dog]

I had this exact thing, for use of a waterblaster to clean the driveway and walls.

The tenant cracked it. My Agent offered to pay for 3,000 litres. The tenant was thrilled, as it was obviously far more than the water volume used.

It cost me 11 bucks.

[Perry]

All this presumes that you were on the property with the appropriate Notice.

Was the task being performed at the tenant's request?

[PC]

Give them $50 for that months water bill.
Put the rent up $20pw.

[Anthonyacat]

Agree with PC and Artemis.

Make a generous estimation of how much you might have used. Call it $10-20. Deliver it to them along with a notice that rent is going up by the same amount, per week.

[Perry]

Tread Warily

Beware of retaliatory aspects.

54 Tribunal may declare retaliatory notice of no effect
(1) Within 14 working days after receipt of a notice terminating the tenancy, being a notice that complies with the requirements of section 51 (or, in the case of a boarding house tenancy, section 66U), the tenant may apply to the Tribunal for an order declaring that the notice is of no effect on the ground that, in giving the notice, the landlord was motivated wholly or partly by the exercise or proposed exercise by the tenant of any right, power, authority, or remedy conferred on the tenant by the tenancy agreement or by this or any other Act or any complaint by the tenant against the landlord relating to the tenancy.

While that relates to a tenancy termination, any TT Kangaroo Kourt Klown worthy
of the name could stretch that to cover a LL's unauthorised water use.

[revdev]

Compensate them by paying for full water use for the period you used the small amount. Learn and move on.

I agree with this. If they are reasonable tenants, pay the rent ontime, then by issuing a rent raise over it you are just picking a fight for no reason.

[sidinz]

If they are reasonable tenants.

Their actions show that they are not reasonable. How else was the landlord to clean the fence that the tenants get to look at on a daily basis? Truck the water in? To make a fuss over a few cents' worth of water is nit-picking in the extreme.

[revdev]

You have to have thicker skin than that. Tenants nit-pick over heaps of stuff - what are you going to do, throw the baby out with the bathwater everytime?

[donna]

I agree - why retaliate with upping the rent etc seems spiteful.

cheers,

Donna

[Wayne]

We are talking bugger all money!
Why make a fight.
Sure it is little for them as well but they are right.

How else is the LL to clean the fence - well that is their problem really.
Maybe ask the tenant before you presume to use what they pay for?
Maybe it has happened several times before and they are over it so made a point - last straw thing?

[RollingCloud]

A hose running at full volume uses 2000 litres of water per hour. So times that by the time you used it. Hmm what is the water rate? $1.20 here for a m3 (1000 litres). So by using that as your calc, it is fair and reasonable way to calculate.