Water Bills - Who Pays What?

It's a New Year and with it comes some new changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). In particular changes to the way your tenant is billed for water have come into effect from 1 January 2020.

Most notably, the changes clarify who is responsible for the cost of water consumption and service charges. This includes the special meter readings, conducted when tenants vacate a property.

Tenants only pay water consumption

From 1 January, when a service/ utility is connected in the name of the owner, or a strata company, the tenant is only responsible to pay the cost for their consumption if the service is separately metered.

If the service is not in the name of the tenant, the tenant is not responsible for any charges other than consumption. This means that owners are now liable for the special meter reading fee - this is a service fee. Previously, this is a cost that could be charged to the tenant.

Don't have a water meter at your property?

In the very rare event that there is no separate meter, then there must be a calculation charge agreed in writing between the owner and tenant for charges to be passed on. For example, the lease agreement would clearly need to state that the tenant is responsible for XX% of the total water bill.

The amendments to the RTA also confirm that to charge a tenant for consumption, including any GST if applicable, a detailed written notice of the charge is to be provided. The notice must be issued within a certain time frame and contain specific details - but don't get caught up in the nitty gritty, that's what we're here for.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about the changes, feel free to give us a call. Or, you can check out the Department of Commerce website here.