What should I do what one water meter?

[Maurice Stewart]

I have a duplex with only a master water meter. What’s the best strategy (besides switching to sub meter) to take when charging my tenants?

[Mike Wood]

@Maurice Stewart In Orleans Parish, it will cost more then $1600 to install a second water meter.  The cost is two (2) fold, a) the cost to have the second water meter installed and tapped into the system (the city water group used to do this, but no longer, you'll need a licensed commercial plumbing company for it now) and b) the cost to run new piping from the house to the second meter (must be a licensed plumber).  This assumes that your house has two (2) completely different water services inside the house, which is not likely.  Based on my new construction projects, this is likely in the $2500 range.

If you dont already have two seperate services inside the house, forget about a second meter.  Figure out what the average water bill is for the entire property and include this expense in when you calculate the rent.  In New Orleans, one water meter for a duplex is very, very common and in these duplexes, the landlord includes water in the price of the rent.