Im installing water meters and will be passing the cost thru to residents , im billed on a master meter ,however our park is on sewer , question is can i still bill for sewer costs,even though tenants arent on city sewer they are on septic , this would recover some of my sewer costs…
Several factors have to be considered. Your best bet is to contact your State Utilities Commission and ask them the question. I have two parks in two different states, one regulates the other one we do not meet their threshold to be monitored, and can set our own rate within reason of course. We simply use a flat=fee rate used by the city as if we were provided public service. Had lots of angry tenants when we implemented RUBS, but explained that we have carried the load for 6 years, made improvements to the parks and other planned improvements we need to clear this burden if they want the improvements they have been asking for.
Good Luck.
1 Like
I’ve developed MH Parks mostly in Alabama but these considerations should apply anywhere:
- Is the septic system a combined system or is each home on a separate system? Combined systems are usually regulated much more stringently.
- Does the state regulate this system? You should be able to get the Local Health Department or Environmental Health agency to answer this and many other questions.
- Do you pay anything to another entity or organization monthly or annually to “manage” the system? All combined systems that have been put in place in the last 10 years in Alabama must have a “Management Entity” to oversee them. The fee limit here is around $45 per month that they can charge per unit.
In general, there is a definite ongoing maintenance and obsolescence cost that should be accrued over time. All septic systems will need maintenance, either yearly, or within a few years. The amount you save should consider the full cost of replacement/upgrade to the system as most local regulators would require a system to be brought up to todays standards if it failed.
I hope some of this has helped. I’d be glad to try to help with the specific situation if you want to send me more info on it.
Keith
We are a third party billing company, and deal with this question all the time.
When we are faced with this decision it usually comes down to the verbiage used on the bills.
For instance: If your charging tenants for using your infrastructure, instead of directly charging for sewer…you can use the money to maintain your septic.
We provide turn- key billing services for over 8,000 per month and the only state we’ve seen this not work in is in Missouri.
Good luck, I’m intrested to see what you guys end up doing.
what is a typical charge for sewer on a septic system?
We go by local municipal rates.
So what ever the city is charging.
Sometimes our clients take that charge and cut it in half…
Let me know what you decide to do.