water leak..... help pay water bill?

Question

got an email from my tenant on dec 22 saying they got a letter from the city saying there water bill was higher than normal and there is probably a water leak somewhere(they just got back from a week vacation). Dec 23 i get my plumber out there and it ends up being the wax ring and a missing bolt on the toilet on the main level toilet(floor was really wet) fast forward to yesterday i get a $341 water bill (3 months) from the city. I contact the tenant to confirm that they also got the bill and they did. The city sends me a day by day break down of water usage for the last 3 months. City tells me they also sent a letter on November 2 about a possible leak but tenant doesn't recall getting it. Tenant is responsible for the water bill and says she will figure something out and make sure it gets paid on time. These are new tenants(moved in sept 1) but are great tenants. I am curious if any of you would help pay the water bill or just make the tenant pay all of it?

Wayne Brooks · Answer

The wax ring and a missing bolt have Nothing to do with water usage....that only seals the sewer pipe, and prevents the Flushed water from leaking out.  Your leak problem is elsewhere, as your talking about 1000's of gallons of water going somewhere.  Doesn't sound like much of a plumber.

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

@mike

@Mike O. our water company works with us on adjusting then bill if there was some kind of leak, as long as you can show them the bill for repairs made. It's worth a try

Tyler Ansell · Answer

I'd definitely cut them a break on some of it. We include most utilities to a certain point, "cap" but if there was a significant air conditioning issue for example we'll knock off a little more.

Just be glad you found and can fix the leak before that $400 water bill turns into $1000 worth of water damage.

Gail K. · Answer

The issue with the flapper could very likely have been the cause of the increased water bill.  However,  one would hear the toilet constantly refilling unless you happen to rent to deaf tenants (and the toilet would have to run longer than a week with a bad flapper to cause this level of bill).

Same thing with the "missing bolt" if this was, in actuality, a rusted bolt from the tank to the base causing a leak...but again, your tenants should have been aware that gosh; the floor in this bathroom has suddenly become a not very deep lake.

Sounds like this flapper/leaking business has been going on for a while (i.e., the letter the water department said they sent out in NOVEMBER) and your "great tenants" are possibly so dumb they can't chew gum and walk at the same time.

At any rate, if they had notified you sooner you would have sent your plumber out to address this problem then.

The water bill is on them.  And yes, it's not unusual that the water department may give them some credit back regarding this matter.

Gail

Mike O. · Answer

Thank you all for the advice

Fausto Carosella · Answer

@Mike O. The city/county will usually come up with a running average water usage for a certain period of time prior to when the extensive water usage was noticed. They'll usually give the customer some sort of credit back due to the fact it was a leak and not just negligence. You'll probably have to back this up with the plumber's invoice stating what was wrong and that it's fixed, and even then they will probably not give a credit for the full overage. If you're lucky they might split the difference. I've seen it work like this in several different cities. In my particular case my tenant didn't tell me for a couple days that the toilet wouldn't stop running... thank goodness nothing was damaged but the bill was quite high, and it was under her name not mine. Normally I would have let her pay since she neglected to tell me, but I paid the overage after the credit because she was leaving in a couple weeks and wanted that to go as smoothly as possible. I'd pay the overage if they are good tenants, that gesture will probably go a long way.

Rob Witt · Answer

I would take the 3 month average of regular useage (from last year maybe) pick 3 months together from previous tenant, unless usage is $60 for sept. and $63 for oct. subtract the average use from the $341 and pay the difference. Pending you can prove the tenant did not ignore the nov. notice. Going the extra mile early (if they are a good tenant) could prove to be paying dividends at the end of the lease. good luck

Mike O. · Answer

the flapper was bad too. whatever he did it fixed the problem. 12/22 water usage was 1,033 gallons and water usage on 12/23 was 96.6 gallons/ 12/24 was 76 gallons.

Kevin Siedlecki · Answer

@Mike O. - I pay all of the water bill, but that's priced into my rents. I don't want to mess with late or missed payments to the city/county, which can result in foreclosure if unaddressed. I know a lot of other investors share that perspective.

If I were to charge tenants, I would do it as a bill-back. I would pay the bill, then bill tenants for it as an invoice from me, not the municipality.

water leak..... help pay water bill?

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