Yes and no. The worry is not about water consumption by tenants but about leaks and they do not report it because “water comes for free out of the faucet”.
It’s particularly annoying when water is billed every 60 days and they mail the bill 30 days after the reading. So, when you see the high bill, the leak may have gone on for as much as 90 days already, even if you fix it the very same day, your next bill will still be inflated, just not quite as high.
I’m not talking about difficult to find leaks inside the wall. It’s the typical running toilet where the flapper has worn out ($4, but remember, water is free, so why bug the landlord about it). I’m thinking I should have flappers with me all the time and routinely replace them every 12 months.
And then there’s … well…you decide. Property (9 units) has sprinkler irrigation and they’re running in summer months 3 times a week around 6am.
One of the sprinkler drip heads had popped off, maybe a kid had pulled it, nobody knows. So the water is just shooting out there and subsequent stations get no water. The water is spraying right into the walkway.
Now, this does irk the tenant who goes to work early. He doesn’t want to show up in wet pants.
Luckily, he’s handy and can solve the problem.
He pushed the hose with the missing drip head into the downspout’s drain pipe. No more mess on his way to work.
My water bill increased $600 due to this and $400 the following cycle.
Oh, and the tenant who I suspect did this “repair”, I think it is the one who pays $500 less rent in exchange for “maintenance work” that he does on the property.
So, here is another advice. Never reduce rent (fixed $ amount) for work that the tenant performs (variable amount). It always ends up that you get below market rent and little work is done if any at all, or low quality work (see my sprinkler line repair).
Can I bill the excessive water use to the tenants? No. The rental contract says it’s included. And I cannot know for sure who did that “repair”.