Passing on Water Consumption Charges
15 Jul 2019 - Investment Tips

In property investment, there are some valid expenses that you can pass on to the tenants. Owners sometimes miss out on potential savings that are valid tenant expenses. One of these examples are water consumption billing on the Gold Coast City Council water rates. Property owners often ask if they can pass on water consumption charges to their tenants? There are three rules associated with passing on water consumption charges to the tenants and make sure your agent knows #2 intimately:

The three rules that must be satisfied are:

1. The lease must expressly state that the tenants must pay for water consumption; and
2. The property must be individually metered; and
3. The rental premises must be water efficient.

#1: Lease terms

All long term lease terms prepared and signed by Nuvaq expressly states that the tenants must pay for water consumption. Refer to the lease agreement and ensure that the clause for water consumption charges show that it is the tenants’ responsibility to pay for water usage.

#2: Individual meter

Newer style buildings often have installed individual meters for each property. Here’s list of buildings to show you whether or not the properties are individually owned:

Another way to determine if your property is individually metered is to refer to your Gold Coast City Council water rates. Gold Coast property owners receive water rates quarterly. If you flip over to page 3 of the water rates, you will notice the following charges:

1. Sewerage service charge – cannot be passed on to tenants;
2. Water service charge – cannot be passed on to the tenants;
3. Water usage charges:

• Local water consumption – can be passed only if the property is individually metered AND the lease states you can pass on the water charges;
• State bulk water consumption – can be passed only if the property is individually metered AND the lease states you can pass on the water charges. 

Working out the water consumption to pass to the tenants is a fairly easy process. Simply email a copy of page 3 of your water consumption and your property manager at Nuvaq can work that out the proportion to pass to tenants to pay. 

At Nuvaq, we emphasise time and self management to ensure professional management of your property. Our property “managers” practise and live time management skills in order to most effectively “manage” one of the most valuable assets of our property owners. 

One of the skills we employ is scheduling in reminders to property owners in the relevant buildings identified above to pass on water consumption charges to tenants. 

So the next time you receive a water bill, read page 3 and see if you can pass on the water consumption charges to your tenants. Every little bit counts in property investment.