Major water leak

I just spoke to the water authority about the possibility of a faulty meter and they say very unlikely. They also said that this size of water leak is not uncommon in my property location being on the peninsula. Apparently the soil is very sandy and it absorbs water very well and therefore they say that it is possible that the tenant may not have noticed the leak.
I guess I now need to have someone inspect the property to see if there is any damage due to rot.

 

Even a pinhole leak spewing out water 24/7 will burn through the water , , but as long as you have replaced the entire length from roadside to house entry point it should not cause you any more problems.
The cheapest option to just repair the damaged section can get very expensive if the whole line has become corroded over time.

 

So as it turns out the 20mm burst line was a supply to the ensuite. When the plumber attended site to find a leak he was told by the tenant that there was no water supply to the ensuite. Should the tenant had notified the property manager that there was no water supply to the ensuite earlier then a plumber could have gone out much earlier rather than waiting months for the water bill to arrive before reporting an issue. On this basis should I pay for the wasted water bill?

 

funniest thing ive read today!

 

I didnt think LL insurance cover this kind of stuff???

this has happened to me i the past before

 

According to my calculations, looking at the water bills, there was a leak of approximately 1.8 million litres (or 37.5 swimming pools) of water over a period of probably 3 months. Think I will send someone to inspect the house stumps!

 

Are the house stumps timber or concrete?

 

Not sure. I think that they are concrete. Even if they are it is possible that they may start to sink fairly quickly. Don't know not an expert on stumping.

 

I've got a list of expert stumpers, unfortunately no phone numbers.

Google may help.

Linky

 

You more than likely won't see any affects for a while..

Can also do the opposite and push the house up (when the clay expands from the water)

If timber, chances are they already need doimg anyway... but can possibly save some money via an insurance claim.

Where is the property located?

 

Port Phillip Bay

 

Frankston VIC

 

What if they pee a lot at night and drink lots of glasses of water at night

 

Was it a bay before the leak

 

If they failed to report maintenance, and you can prove this has resulted in something that has now cost more money than it would have - if it had been sorted out when first discovered. That being the case, often the tenant has to wear the result.

Years ago now, we had a tenant try and claim a $450 water bill because his toilet was running constantly - but because he hadn't reported it, and when we noticed it at the routine inspection, it was fixed the same week, he got a big fat $0.

For this one, I think it on the tenants and what you want to do. Do you want them to stay? Will they be long term and no hassle (Saving money on letting fees and vacancy?) They've asked what they think is reasonable and if you say no, they're likely not going to be particularly happy (no one is when it comes to spending money that you didn't expect to have to pay) - they may take it to VCAT, then it will be up to the member to decide whether or not it's reasonable that they foot the bill. You have a fairly strong case if you've fixed it quickly after it was reported but you never know with VCAT nowadays.

Good luck either way.

 

Surely someone from the water authority can check the water meter? Even get someone to do a reading per day?