Why the landlord pays water

[elegantelbow]

I am a landlord. I have been a tenant. I have often been asked whether the landlord can charge the tenant for water. Here is the answer from the city's website:

Am I responsible for my tenant's water bill

Comments

[_dark_phoenix_]

Thank goodness someone posted this. It's totally true and I wish more people would believe me when I tell them...

[elegantelbow]

Amazingly, even my property manager (who is, herself, a real estate agent and realtor) believed that the landlord could require the tenant to pay the water bill.

Landlords from out of town always think they can get away with this. Fie!

[elegantelbow]

Since you thought it was useful, I went ahead and cross-posted it to some local communities. Grrr.... It really bugs me when landlords misbehave.

[faeflitt]

Thanks! Being new in town I could have been easily taken on this one....

[_wirehead_]

um, isn't this "agreement" just part of the "legal relationship" you enter into when you rent space from someone?

*confused*

... i think we're paying water at our current apts... as well as a part of the "trash removal" or something, for the service of having the dumpsters emptied...

[elegantelbow]

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.

um, isn't this "agreement" just part of the "legal relationship" you enter into when you rent space from someone?

It could be. But only if the city is involved. If the city hasn't made a commitment to the landlord and the tenant both to accept payment from the tenant instead of the landlord, then you haven't.

Check your lease, call the city. You might be one of those few people that has signed an agreement with the city as well as the landlord. If not, then the part of your lease that says you pay water is not legally binding.
killbox says he knows people at legal aid. I encourage you to contact them.

If the trash removal fee is for the city to remove trash, then that would be covered by the water bill. If the trash is picked up by another entity, then it might be legal for you to be charged for that.

But, again, that's pretty non-standard.

[parthenogenocid]

This just looks like the city saying it can't be bothered to keep track of tenants and collect money from them. The landlord is responsible for paying the city, but there is nothing preventing the landlord from collecting an equivalent amount of money from the tenant as part of the rental agreement.

[elegantelbow]

I suppose that's true. But even in that case, it is definitely to the landlord's advantage to pay the water bill, and then bill the tenants. If the water bill is not paid, it's the property owner who will be held accountable.

And, in effect, that's what happens when a landlord charges rent high enough to cover the water bill. Also, the landlord would be accountable to demonstrate that the tenant had used the amount of water the tenant was billed for. Which is a pain in the ass for apartments since they're not typically individually metered.

Do you even live in my city?