Sub metering multis and tenants pay their own water

[Andy Sturm]

I have a 2 family that all the utilities have been sub metered so each tenant can be billed based on their individual consumption. The water provider will not read and bill sub meters. Therefore, we have a main meter that we as the landlord get billed for from the water company. We sub metered after the main meter for each unit. A private company reads the meters monthly and bills the tenants for us. The tenants pay us for the water not the company reading the meters and billing them, because we are the ones actually paying for their usage. They offer the service of receiving and distributing payments, but only if you have 27 or more units with them. 

One of the tenants has an issue with this. They want to be billed quarterly instead of monthly like the water company bills us. The company who reads the meters charges a fee of $4.80 to read the meters, that cost gets put on the tenant which she doesn't like. We also put a late fee of $10 if she is late. This is more than the water company would charge us if we were late and we have less opportunities to be late since we are billed quarterly. 

Submetering was new to us at this time and there is nothing written in her lease about her being responsible for the water bill. It was just set up just like you would set up utilities in a single family home. She just has realized she is sending the bill to the landlords and not a utility company and it has put a bad taste in her mouth. I believe she feels we are some how benefitting or making a profit which we are not. It ends up a wash every quarter.

Has anyone had any experience like this with a tenant? Im sure it would be helpful to have these things outlined in the lease but we do not. If she were in a single family and didn't pay her bill once the utility company would put a work order out to have the water shut off.  After three months could I begin to send her notices and shut her water off if she chooses not to pay? Can I evict her over not paying the water since it doesn't say in the lease I am paying for it or she is paying for it. Is there even grounds for eviction or do I actually have nothing and if she didn't want to pay the water bill, she doesn't have to? I have to continue to pay the bill because the other unit is on the same main meter. I could shut her unit off individually but Im pretty sure its illegal to just shut her water off even if she wasn't paying us for her portion. 

What I am looking for is some firm ground to stand on to push back a little on her. If I can evict her thats great. I dont plan on pursuing that, but at least I have some recourse.