WA: Do you need a by-law to bill water based on sub-meter readings?

This article discusses the need of a by law to charge water by sub meter in WA strata.

Question: Can a strata company charge water based on each lot’s sub-meter usage, or does the scheme need a by-law?

We are a complex of 15 single-storey units with individual water sub-meters and a main meter. The council reads the sub meters and main meter every two months and gives the readings to our strata manager for billing and payment to the Water Corporation.

We’d prefer the strata manager charge each owner based on their sub-meter usage. A recent leak in one lot increased that lot’s usage and pushed the Water Corporation bill into a higher tier. Our unit entitlements are equal, and the strata manager spread the higher-tier cost across all owners.

We think this is unfair to owners whose usage stays within the lower tier. We want each lot billed on its individual usage. The strata manager says the scheme cannot do this without a by-law. Do we need a by-law to bill each lot based on sub meter readings?

Answer: You can charge owners based on their individual sub‑meter readings without needing a by‑law, provided the scheme already uses sub‑meters, and the council has resolved to adopt that method.

Yes. You can charge owners based on their individual sub‑meter readings without needing a by‑law, provided the scheme already uses sub‑meters, and the council has resolved to adopt that method.

Your manager is oversimplifying the law. Let’s unpack it properly.

1. What the Strata Titles Act actually says

Under section 75 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), when water is supplied through a single master meter, the Water Corporation bills the strata company, not individual owners.

The Act does not prescribe how the strata company must divide that bill among owners. That means the method of internal cost‑sharing is a strata company decision, not a Water Corporation rule.

There are only two lawful methods:

A. Charge by unit entitlement (default)

This applies if:

• there are no sub‑meters, or




• the strata company has not adopted a different method.

B. Charge by actual usage (sub‑meter readings)

This applies if:

• the scheme has sub‑meters, and
• the strata company has resolved to use them for billing.

A by-law is not required to use sub‑meters. A simple ordinary resolution at a general meeting is enough.

2. Your manager’s claim that “you need a by-law” is incorrect

The Act or the Regulations does not require the strata company to create a by-law to charge based on sub‑meter readings. Your manager may be thinking of the ACT’s requirement for a by-law to vary the way levy contributions are raised, which does not apply here.

This is supported by industry guidance showing that schemes commonly choose between:

• charging by unit entitlement, or
• charging by sub‑metered usage

The method can be changed by agreement of the owners.

3. The Tier 2 problem — why your current method is unfair

Here’s what’s happening:

• The Water Corporation charges the strata company based on total consumption through the master meter.
• If one owner’s lot has a leak, the whole scheme gets pushed into Tier 2 pricing.
• Your manager then “averages” the cost by inventing a blended kL rate and charging everyone the same rate.

This is not required and is not fair. The fair method, in my opinion, is:

Charge each owner:

1. Their own sub‑meter usage × Tier 1 rate, until the scheme’s total usage exceeds the Tier 1 threshold
2. Only the excess Tier 2 cost should be allocated proportionally
3. The owner with the leak should bear the cost of the leak

This is exactly the issue raised in the LookUpStrata article about unfair water billing in WA, where schemes incorrectly split costs in ways that subsidise heavy users: WA: How to challenge unfair water billing in strata scheme

4 .What you can do now

Here’s the practical path forward:

Step 1 — Ask the manager to identify the legal basis for their claim

Step 2 — Put forward a motion at the next general meeting

Motion wording: “That the strata company resolves to charge each lot for water consumption based on their individual sub‑meter readings, and that any excess charges resulting from leaks or abnormal usage are allocated to the lot responsible.”

This requires only an ordinary resolution (simple majority).

Luke Downie
Realmark Strata
E: ldownie@realmark.com.au
P: 08 9328 0999

This post appears in Strata News #781.

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Read next:

• WA: How to challenge unfair water billing in strata scheme
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