Tenants responsibility in water and sewerage disposal charges in Vic

Hi guys, am just after a second opinion

after moving out our problematic townhouse end of Nov last year today I got contacted by the previous PM that we are responsible to pay water bills sewerage disposal charge up until January because the new tenants only moved in mid January

we had no access to the property at all during those times and how could we be sure that no one used the water etc during the month of December?

It wasn’t an excessive bill - it was $80 for both water and sewerage disposal for 3 months (Oct, Nov, Dec and early January)

Could I refuse to pay part of of the charges (based on proportion) because our lease finished end of Nov?

This was our first time renting so we had no idea

 

How the hell does the PM think that because new tenants moved into a property in January, that you would be responsible for charges between when you vacated and when the new tenants took up tenancy?

Who dreams up this rubbish?

 

You are only responsible for charges up to when you vacated the property & handed back the keys.

If you or the agent recorded the meter reading that would be the amount you can be charged. No reading, no charge.

Service charge is pro-rata for the number of days to billing days for the period.

 

Are you the vacating tenant?

You should have contacted the water company to let them know you were leaving the property. Similar to stopping the power or gas.

 

no they didn’t read the meter as I wasn’t aware that I needed to tell the water company that we are moving (it was initially all set up by the agent and this was our first time renting)

so the agent replied as per attachment

again I was not sure about myself rights a tenant and could it be that I didn’t tell the company that we are leaving hence we are liable for the charges?

The $33.87 water usage that she mentioned in the email is incorrect - we overpaid our last bill so we received rebate of $50 and the total bill was $83.87

what grounds do I have to refuse payment? Or should I just suck up and move on?

 

Maybe the owner was watering the garden!

You could ask the water company to breakdown weekly usage for the period after you left so you can prove it wasn’t you...

But South East water specifically says on their site to notify them 2 days before you leave so you don’t get charged:

 

You pay for usage only, not disposal. Was the account in your name? If so then you should have told them you were moving out and asked for a final reading. Don't know how it works if it is in the owners name and how they charge you.

Tools

 

I would be fighting the bill on principal that you have moved out and cannot be responsible for any consumption charges after the keys handed back, and the meter should have been read by the agent when you vacated.

 

Yeah I also forgot that tenants have their own water accounts in Victoria. I wish that also applied in NSW... it would save us pm's a lot of hassle chasing water usages, calculating first and final water usages etc..

 

That is incorrect. In Victoria, tenants pay for the cost of water and sewerage disposal.

When a property is tenanted, Landlords pay the water service charge and sewerage service charge.

When a rental property is vacant, the landlord pays the water usage and sewerage disposal as well.

For example, my property was vacant for 22 days last year so I got a bill for 22 days of water usage and sewerage disposal for the rental property (in addition to the normal separate bill for the service charge and sewerage charge).

Now that it is tenanted, the tenants pay the water usage and sewerage charge.

 

Ahhh, sorry, you are correct. I was thinking of the service fees.

Tools

 

Contact whoever your water company is and send them the details of your move out and request whether they can adjust the bill.

They should then invoice the owner directly for any charges between your vacate date and the new tenant.

Technically you are meant to arrange your own disconnection, however you shouldn’t be charged for the vacancy period. So if the water company cannot assist, I’d calculate the daily rate and suggest you pay that only.

 

Hi ostrich98,
When our tenants give notice to vacate, we remind them to organise final readings with utility providers, re-direct mail, etc.

I know it's a bit late now, but you should have contacted your water provider to do a final reading when you vacated.

Check the Invoice and compare the cost / usage for the previous quarter, and query it with the Water Provider if you feel the latest Invoice is either the same or more. It's going to be difficult to adjust the Invoice and find out if any water was used whilst it was vacant.