Tenant pay for water? (Baltimore City/county )

[Brentin Trent]

In Baltimore City and County, Baltimore City charges the property owner for water consumption. I would like my tenant to be responsible for their water usage. What is the best way to structure this / what have others done?

Options that I have thought of:

I have considered charging the tenant some fixed (reasonable) monthly fee for water, and including that in the lease. IF the tenant uses much more water, then I might be stuck paying the difference. I wonder if there is an issue if this fixed fee exceeds the actual usage for any given month out quarter.

Considered invoicing the tenant (quarterly when the bill comes?) for the amount, and stating such in the lease.

Any other Options?

The other interesting thing in Baltimore County is the Sewer Fee, which is a tax that appears to be linked to the total amount of water usage. I haven't heard anyone talk about this.... So, it seems like that County tax would also increase based on the amount of city water my tenants are utilizing. Should I somehow bill the tenant for this. Ultimately I would like the tenant to be responsible for the amount of water they use a directly as possible. My thinking is this will incentive then to report leaky/runny toilets etc. and would also avoid wasting water.

[Tim Jacob]

Jamie is correct however based on your tenant it might be easier to collect it along with the rent that way you know it is paid.  Tenants can have a way of forgetting.  

In regards to metering its pointless if its single family but not for multi where the bills are split.  You can get the non electronic ones at Ferguson for around 200 when including the connection pieces.  Installation is easy and shouldnt take a plumber more than an hour if you have a designated spot.