QLD Tenant water charging in QLD - proving water efficiency

What about the new plumber trying it on with a non-local landlord, to get add-on business?

A few random comments:
Earlier this year I went online to find out what the current Brisbane and Qld water restrictions are, and I discovered the water compliancy regulations are lower than they were in the previous drought.

I heard this from a PM a few years ago: she had recently moved up from NSW where water is charged differently to Qld. Being a renter, the first thing she does is change over the water-saving devices in her Brisbane home back to high-flowing ones so she can have nicer showers etc. If this is typical of "tenants", your water-saving devices from 11 years ago have long since vanished.

You dont have to buy and install all new taps. You can buy water-flow restrictors and screw them into the ends of the spouts. They are like a tiny filter and they eventually break down and need replacing. Any plumber can charge you the call out fee to install these restrictors which can be purchased at any hardware store.

While the plumber is there, get them to install high quality tenant-proof washers into every tap.

 

Thanks, Angel, for your reply.
Hope it was not a plumber trying to rip us off, as he is used by the current PM. Would they try to do that? On the quote invoice, they said if we did not go ahead with the quote, then we still had to pay $110 for call out fee!
I did have an inkling thing that one of the previous tenants might have change the taps to suit their preference. But, how could we prove this?
Problem for us is that we are stuck overseas due to covid, cannot get back to Oz yet. So, we have to depend / rely on the PM to do things.

 

Sorry to see that you are stuck overseas, I trust you are OK.
Yes, whenever a tradesman is called out, it is customary to still pay their initial fee. They have performed the testing for you. The client's responsibility now is to pay for that service and to rectify the situation, so ask if you can get flow restrictors installed in each device rather than full replacement. Also ask if any devices require replacement due to wear or if they are fine otherwise.

I like to believe that the plumber is honest, so he will be forthcoming with the correct advice to best rectify the situation once you open dialogue with them. Email or phone the plumber directly and ask for more clarification as to why they recommend replacing so many devices. There may be a good reason.

I find it unusual that a toilet cistern was compliant several years ago but isn't compliant now. It may be a very old one and it requires new parts, and it is more economical to you, the client, to install a new one at say $200 shelf price than to replace something now and then get another call out fee later when the rest of it breaks down.

 

Thanks again, Angel.

Our property is 2 storeys - 4 beds, 2 baths. These were in the plumber quote. Toilet cisterns leaking water, need to replace due to age and yellowing. Shower heads leaking, need to replace. Wash basin taps over 9Lpm, need aerators. Kitchen tap leaking, need to replace. Laundry tap over 9Lpm, need restrictor. So it seems water leaking (which tenants have never reported) and some taps needs aerators / restrictor. Not sure how we can find a handyman to replace these cheaper than a plumber? But then we need a water compliance certificate also!

PS - We are OK, feeling isolated as we maintain strict anti-social behaviour, been living on our savings and running them down quickly - rent being the largest expense We are in the UK, so cannot get back to Oz easily as flights are like hens teeth. Fingers crossed that after getting the jab sometime in 2021, we will be able to go home after the Australian government re-opens the borders (and they keep saying not until end of 2021 - "crying") and having done the jab we will be spared the mandatory dreaded hotel quarantine.

 

Possibly able to get away with replacing the flusher if it's is a compliant. Shower head shouldn't leak unless it's broken/not properly seated on the thread (possibly need new washers/reseating the taps)

Yes

Sounds like the tapware is old and should be replaced with newer taps etc (may even be more cost effective than trying to fix the existing).

Although a handyman might be able to replace washers etc, they won't be able to provide the water efficiency certificate.

 

Thanks, Scott No Mates. We will wait for a second quote and compare. Still it is a bit of shock - all those years we thought we did the right thing ...

 

Best to just get a quote from another plumber and have a plumber complete the work rather then a handyman, there is very limited works that can legally be performed in Qld by non qualified persons

 

Thank you, wylie. I am waiting for a second quote from PM with another plumber. I would like to explore the option of using your plumber. Will get back to you on this. Much appreciated.

 

Have received another quote from the PM, and it is about half of what was quoted by the first plumber. So, that is a relief and we will be going ahead with this second quote.
Thanks everyone for your input, comments and suggestions. Really appreciated

 

Why on earth not? The queensland regs only require the premises to be water efficient, there is no prescribed way of proving or documenting this (i.e. no mention of a "certificate" at all).

If your handyman tests and documents compliance with the legislation/regulations then you should be able to use this to enforce the water payments at a tribunal.

 

Good evening all, long time lurker but first post. - One of my Qld properties was certified as water compliant by a plumber but has recently been discovered that it was not properly tested by him but he relied on the manufacturers statements of water efficiency [new shower heads were installed prior to new tenant moving in]. He has now tested it and made it water compliant but I am a bit unsure after reading many forum posts and the RTA information about where I stand in relation to passing on water costs to the tenants. RTA info says I must pay for a reasonable amount but some others have said that I cannot pass on any water costs for the period my property was not water efficient. Any information much appreciated.

 

I don't think it matters the plumber was incompetent and / or lied. How were you to know this? At the end of the day you contacted an "expert", and they provided their certification. That's the start and the end of the conversation.

 

Agree.

DRK- You can rely on the manufacturers statements of water efficiency to meet the water efficiency requirement so not sure how he could have got it wrong

 

I think he based his certificate on a manufacturers statement rather than his own testing. When the tenant questioned the high flow rate from the taps he went and checked and found that it was not compliant but made it so on the spot - that's where I am at now. It's put me in a bit of a bind because the tenant was actually right and I am a bit unsure about what I can now charge for water prior to the property actually being compliant.

 

That would be fine if their statements were actually correct - not so in this case...

 

Absolutely it's worth it! Some of our tenants have had HUGE water usage. If they weren't paying for it we would be broke by now.

 

We charge water usage on every single property, comes to around $15wk depending on the property- much higher on some.

Very odd for a manufacturers statement to be incorrect for water flow, I can only think that someone might have removed a flow restrictor? Where was the item purchased?

 

You can't, it was non-compliant. If the previous tenant (or the plumber unlikely) had removed the restrictors, then there is nothing you can do about backcharging for usage - you are limited in the timeframe that you can claim usage.

Has the usage changed significantly at any time which may pinpoint when the restrictors were removed. Did the plumber clarify how many outlets were non-compliant?