New water meters in a block of flats

I own an IP with one water meter for the entire block of flats. As provided in the Residential Tenancies Act (Vic) owners pay for the fixed and use charges – tenants cannot be charged anything. Individual water meters are being installed so that each unit pays for what they use, and the OC pays for water for the garden and laundry. Owners will pay for fixed water costs.

We engaged a plumber to make the pipes ready for the water company to attend and install their meters. There's short lengths of pipe where the meters will go. Remove the pipe, put in a meter.

The OC has paid or will pay for the plumber we engaged. I've been unable to determine who pays for the meters. Will the water company invoice the owner or the OC for the meter installation?

 

Is everyone getting a meter? The BC should control that and be part of your levies to ensure everyone gets their meters installed as the water is currently in the name of the BC.

Each owner will then need to get the water into their own names. Anyone who doesn't will get their bill via the BC as it will still be in the BC's name.

 

You need to look up your local water authority's website (they usually have details)... but if things are the same as Sydney, the plumber will buy them - and I assume - will include them to the bill they give your OC who engaged them in the first place.

Not that it matters to you, but for non units/apartments Sydney Water supplies them free of charge (I think).

 

Yep, ours were free. We got the option of paying to have a 'wireless' one where the metering reader can simply walk past and it reads it, as opposed to coming onto our property. But for the sake of $180 odd, we opted for free. I refuse to be out of pocket to make their processes easier - that's just cheeky.

 

Its good if you would like a fence and in that way don't have to provide them access.

It can be a win win.

 

It's a struggle to get information but I think I have the picture. The OC pays for the plumber to make the pipes ready for the meters. The water company has their own plumber, and I'm unsure if there will be a cost to owners or not. I still don't know if the water company will invoice the owners or the OC. Wait and see. We will finish up with individual meters on all units and one meter at the front for all the property - units, garden taps and laundry. I'm unsure how this will work. Maybe take readings from the individual meters and subtract this use from the main meter to get the OC use.

 

Each meter = an account. Each account gets stuck with an account servicing fee and a supply charge which covers meters etc. Its like phone line rental. A fee each quarter for life.

One day Macquarie Bank will buy all these service charges and pay the water people a billion up front and the will then charge a ever increasing fee for ever.

 

We already pay the water utility fees, park fees and the rest. These will continue but with invoices for what each unit uses, not an average. tenants will now pay for use, not landlords.

 

It's short sighted by developers to install unmetered supplies to each unit - only slightly cheaper than properly metered services.