True Submeter (water submetering company) for triplex?

[Cassie Villela]

Hello! Just wondering if anyone has firsthand experience with True Submeter (www.truesubmeter.com). I manage a triplex and would love to submeter the water, but the HOA prevents us from doing it through the water company. This looks like a way to bill the tenants for actual usage in a way that won't violate any of the HOA/city rules. I would love to hear about how it has worked for anyone else!

Thanks!

[Faye R.]

Last month I installed True Submeters in a small duplex. They provide multiple set-up options. I chose to go with meters on the hot water lines of the water heaters and additional meters for the toilets and cold water lines to sinks. I'm losing out on collecting on the cold water that runs through the showers but the trade-off of not making the shower heads  a little awkward was worth it to me. Also, I realized after getting the first bills that only 10% of our local water bill is for actual water use. The rest is local surcharges that True Submeters billing assigns to the tenants, so the loss from this setup is quite minimal.  Since the sub meters are still new, I can't speak to their resiliency. Because the batteries are easily removable, I'm a little concerned that tenants will try to hack the system by removing them. But that won't change the 90% of the bill that represents surcharges so it's not a major concern.  So far I'm feeling really good about my decision to go with True Submeter. It didn't take my handman long to install them and True Submeter was very responsive and patient with me. I was not an easy client. I changed my mind and the order multiple times.