Question: Do tenants pay for hot water usage and similar charges within a group of units?
Answer: Hot Water charges in Strata complexes vary
Hot Water charges in Strata complexes vary. Please see the below summary of the different ways water is billed and charged.
Complexes with individual hot water systems
In complexes where units have their own hot water system, the water is simply calculated by SA Water through the meter. It is normal for Strata Corporations to have one water meter and the bills are either charged directly to the Corporation or to the owner, based either by unit entitlement, equally or some other manner in which the Corporation have previously agreed to. In some cases owners pay then charge the water use onto the tenant, but this would be outlined in the lease and covered under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Complexes with shared hot water systems (bulk hot water systems)
Larger complexes tend to have bulk hot water systems where the system supplies the hot water to each individual unit. This set-up involves each unit having a meter to calculate the water / gas used for each unit. Usually, the company that is contracted to manage the bulk hot water system then reads the meters and bills the tenants directly for their water use. In some cases, the costs of the meter reading and service costs are covered by the Corporation as they know they are recovering the costs of the water used by tenants and it is on a user based system.
In other cases, I have many older properties who have small hot water systems connected to 2 – 3 units and Origin bill those tenants directly for the use but it is not a manager’s bulk hot water system as outlined above.
This post appears in Strata News #597.
Carrie McInerney Horner Management E: carrie@hornermanagement.com.au P: 08 8234 5777