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When can a Queensland renter be charged for water usage?
What details do you check when receiving a water-usage invoice?
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Queensland renters helping renters
When can a Queensland renter be charged for water usage?
What details do you check when receiving a water-usage invoice?
QLD Renters Community
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Yep, renters in Queensland can be charged for water usage, but the landlord or agent has to meet certain requirements first.
If they want to charge you for all of the water you use, the property generally needs to be individually metered, meet the required water-efficiency standards, and your tenancy agreement needs to say that you’re responsible for paying for water consumption.
They also need to give you a copy of the actual water bill showing the usage charges. Under the current rules, the owner or agent should pass the bill on to you within 4 weeks of receiving it.
They can’t just pass the whole council or water bill onto you either. The landlord is still responsible for things like the fixed water access charges and sewerage service charges. You should only be paying the water usage charges you’re actually responsible for.
If the property isn’t water efficient, you generally shouldn’t be charged for every liter you use. Depending on what your lease says, you may only have to pay for usage above a reasonable amount.
Also, if the bill includes water used before you moved in or after you moved out, you shouldn’t be paying for that portion. That’s why having the water meter reading recorded on the entry and exit condition reports can be really important.
If you’ve received a water bill from your agent and you’re unsure about it, check your tenancy agreement, the dates on the bill, the usage charges and whether the property meets the water-efficiency requirements before paying it.
That’s really helpful. I didn’t realize the owner had to meet all of those conditions before charging the full water usage amount.
The part about checking the actual bill is especially important too. I think a lot of us renters just get an invoice from the real estate and assume they have to pay whatever the amount is without seeing how it was calculated.
It would definitely be worth asking for a copy of the original water bill and checking the billing dates, meter readings and what part of the bill is actually usage. If the property isn’t water efficient or the charge includes fixed fees, I’d be questioning it before paying.