can i shutdown water line if tenants doesnt pay water bill?

[Erod R.]

hi everyone,  i own property in philadelphia, PA and also darby PA.  at the beginning i was paying the water bill because it was reasonable between $160-$170 a month on a six unix house.  some of the tenants were evicted due to non rent payment and now i replaced those with new tenants.  my water bill is coming high now between $250-$400.  sometimes is $250, other times $323 and even $400 a month.  all the leases now mentioned that tenants have to pay for their water usage.  i installed submeter for each unit to determine who pays how much etc.

my property management mentioned that if tenants dont pay their portion of water bill, we can shut down their individual water line and leave open whoever is paying for water.  he said that because we installed submeter we would not get in trouble if we are in court.  besides, the lease say they are responsible for water.  is this true?  now that i have submeter /individual water line plus lease mentioned tenants pay for water, can i shut down water line whoever doesnt pay without getting into legal problem?  

any one has experience on this?  please share your experience/comments and let me know i if this is legit to do.  thanks 

[Joel Wilmoth]

Our company also manages foreclosures for institutions.  Trust me when I say that tenants who need to use the bathroom will not stop using the bathroom when inconvenienced by no water.  

It will take a haz-mat team to bring your units back to rentable, healthy condition.  Dont ever let any tenant occupy a property where the water has been turned off!