Cleveland, Ohio - Water Bill Question

[Srianil Peddi]

We (me and my partner) bought our first property in Cleveland, Ohio last January from one of the advertisements in BiggerPockets. It came with a tenant. The real estate agent or the property manager (we inherited from the previous owner) did not mention that the Water needs to be transferred to the new owner and the owner is responsible for collecting the water bill from the tenant. There is nothing in the lease agreement or management agreement. The tenants left the house in December and the water was cut off. So, we called the water company few days ago to start the service only to know that the water service has been on our name from the time we bought the property and there is an outstanding balance of approx. $2500 and because of the non-payment the water was cut off. It seems in April the previous owner called and mentioned that the property was sold and the water company searched online records and simply added our names to the account and started billing us. We did not get any mail that the account was created or any monthly bills. The tenants left without even informing the property management and so there is no way to reach them. They left the house in bad shape and we already spent around $2000 in repairs.  When asked the property management says, they cant help if the tenants left without informing other than submitting the repairs and water bill to the collections. We asked the Water company why they started the service without we calling them instead of turning the service off when the previous owner called and terminated the service. The Water company says that there is a law in Ohio that the Water company can start the service without owners calling them. When I asked them, why they did not turn off the service after 2-3 months of non-payment, they do not have an answer for it. The Water company says it is real estate agent and property management company's fault and the property management say they cant help because they did not get any notification.

What can we do in this case? Is there a law that allows the water company to start the service without the owner asking to start the service on their name? If there is such a law, how can we reduce our losses? 

Thank you in advance for any input you can give.

[Ryan Arth]

@Srianil Peddi I am sorry for your situation, but this is how it goes. CLE water has gotten enormously better in the last ten years, but it is still not the same as dealing with a private utility company.

I had to pay $800 for water usage that the previous owner had not paid in the past. I also had a situation similar to you, where I never received a bill for over a year after owning  property and had to pay for all of that tenant's water usage, as he had already moved on. I have also had to pay back monthly minimums for a commercial warehouse where the water had been turned off at the street for 20+ years, because it had been "available" for use. That was 2500 and I didn't even own the warehouse for those years, but had to pay up to turn on the water.

Unfortunately in this city you have to stay on top of the water, as the prices are rising and the setup is less than ideal.