What to bill when water meter is broken?

mobile home university
1

Hello All,

We just bought a park and several of the water meters are broken. We have only realized that after a month when we received the totals (seller never disclosed).

The question: what do we bill the tenants for whom we have no readings?

Considerations: what is legally allowed? Letting the month slide seems like it would incentivize smashing water meters (granted moving forward we will make them responsible for their meters).

Thank you,

Jared

2

You may want to check with the local authorities before you do anything to see what your legal options are. I charge a flat rate currently (and I’m losing money). As soon as I repair all of my meters I’ll start billing based on the tenant’s usage and water provider’s rate. My guess is that you may be able to get away with charging them an average of what they’ve been paying or a flat rate - consider talking to them and come up with something that is fair and works for you and them.

1 Like
3

Be extremely careful and make sure you contact the appropriate utility commission as others have stated. Some states allow customers to claw back for multiple years if you over charge based on the utility commission definition of appropriate rate. Trust me it is not very much fun…

1 Like
4

We have a similar situation. When we distributed new leases, we wrote into the lease that if water meters are not functioning or break during a billing cycle they will be charged at a flat rate of ______ for that month. We based that number off of 3,000 gallons usage for the month but make no mention of that in the lease. We simply charge the flat rate for the month that includes lot rent and utilities.

We purchased 10 new meters and will install them in the coming months but until then we bill the flat rates for those homes with broken meters. We have been off between 10K and 20K gallons so we lose $100 to $200 - not preferable but not breaking the bank either.

Jon

2 Likes
5

My AMCO meters are getting old and busting. The Village charges a minimum charge when their meter break or there is no usage for a month. I do exactly the same thing when one of my meters goes out and the State association attorney has vetted this approach. Got three right now that need to be replaced and am waiting until March to install new meters. In the meantime, the residents pay the minimum they would have paid were they being serviced directly through the Village.

1 Like
6

To begin with, please consider the best business practices when billing water/sewer to MHP residents:

  1. Does your state utility commission /county/city allow billing tenants for sub-metered utilities. Most specifically allow under one of the jurisdictions; others are “quite” allowing utility sub-meter billing by default. In some states you’ll need to file with the jurisdiction prior to billing your tenants.
  2. In most cases an owner/manager/sub-metering service can not make a profit on the utilities: tenants are billed at the same rates and typically the same rate structure as the municipal supplier. A reasonable billing fee is allowed if using a third party billing service.
  3. Meters should be kept in good working order. (Replace your old meters)
    4)Tenants should have a means to reconcile the utility charges on their individual sub-metering bill.

That said, estimating usage charges or applying arbitrary flat charges for your tenants’ “utilities” are not a good idea. If you can’t accurately bill the tenants for their water/sewer use; you’re probably better off just increasing the rent.

The recent extensive legal actions by tenants in Ohio concerning sub-metering and overcharges, should be considered when billing tenants for any utility.

We’re here to answer your water sub-metering questions.

Sincerely,
Dan Helton
President
Southern Water Management
727-827-4509
Dan@SouthernWaterManagement.com