Renter water issues- Crown Real Estate

Submitted by GroundbreakingRock2 t3_10p6mlq in pittsburgh

Hi Guys! I live in a 2 unit building. I am responsible for 1/3 of the water bill. There is only one water meter for the house, but 3 people live in the building total and this is the arrangement. The most recent copy of the bill we received was over $450. I called the management company to let them know there might be a leak since the normal bill is no where close to that. There was a leak in the downstairs unit. I asked what the remedy is for the water bill and was told nothing can be done since the bill is calculated by usage. Any suggestions of what I can do?

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toripearson_19 t1_j6j9qeu wrote

I'd be pissed with that arrangement. What if the other unit uses way more water than you? That seems sketch.

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kaitb1103 t1_j6isml9 wrote

I’d ask to pay your normal 1/3 cost, suggest that the other unit do the same, and the individual with the water leak pay the last leftover bit.

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lvngstndm t1_j6j42iw wrote

Tell your landlord to contact PGH2O and have them review the leak and whether a credit can be applied. PGH20 has the ability to detect when a leak occurs...I'm not exactly sure of the process, but there's a possibility that they have a system in place for this.

For reference, when I check my own bill online - there is a site that monitors leaks.

https://myaccount.pgh2o.com/WaterSmartLeaks

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GroundbreakingRock2 OP t1_j6jiuwh wrote

Thank you. The account isn’t in my name so I cant login to view what you see, but I will mention this.

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NebbyJohnny t1_j6jbq31 wrote

I'm pretty sure you are not allowed to split a bill like that between separate units. Each tenant needs their own water meter. I have a 3 unit building and I cover the water.

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ajs904 t1_j6kq2hb wrote

Not true. It is legal as long as the lease spells it out.

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GroundbreakingRock2 OP t1_j6jioiq wrote

I tried researching this but I can’t find anything clear

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rmetcalf1230 t1_j6k1t0i wrote

This is correct, illegal to ask unrelated tenants to split a water bill. Not necessarily saying it’s a good idea to tell your landlord this, theyl probably ask you to move and rent to someone else that will accept the split bill. Unfortunately it’s difficult and most of the time prohibitively expensive to split services and add meters. The landlord should inflate rents to cover this cost, but I would guess it’s been like this for a while and you won’t get him to budge

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adamglumac t1_j6kbuae wrote

Where are you getting this information? It is not illegal. As long as the terms are spelled out in the lease.

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rmetcalf1230 t1_j6kgamz wrote

It’s an allegheny county law. You aren’t even allowed to install private submeters for water or gas

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adamglumac t1_j6kgeof wrote

You are 100 percent allowed to split a water bill if terms are laid out in the lease. What law are you referencing?

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BeefyHoagie t1_j6ja0hg wrote

is a two unit building only having one water meter normal? Seems odd but maybe that’s how it’s done.

really seems like Crown should be paying for this but not sure what the correct legal answer is. Seems ridiculous that you would have to pay for what is essentially a maintenance issue your landlord missed.

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adamglumac t1_j6kagy7 wrote

So the landlord wants you to pay extra because their plumbing infrastructure is inadequate and is leaking? This would be an immediate call to 311, I’d inform the landlord I’d pay my regular rate, or a 1/3 of last years bill from the same month, if every month is fairly consistent this is a no brainer. Get their responses documented. Also review your lease.

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GroundbreakingRock2 OP t1_j6kfaoe wrote

Thanks for the advice. I called 311 and they said to review the lease and try calling the fair housing authority. My lease only states I’m responsible for water, not how it’s divided.

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adamglumac t1_j6kg0c6 wrote

The lease is the most important thing. It’s not illegal to have tenants split a bill, despite what some have offered. Now armed with all the information I’d proceed to the landlord, you have no problem paying for water, but paying for a leak that’s not in your unit is not your responsibility, and the timeliness of the repair matters as well. Email the landlord, don’t call, and if it’s handled in person or via a call, email them anyway highlighting the points you talked about. Ex- I was just reaching out after our conversation yesterday and just wanted to confirm…

Edit: the key legal term here is foreign load, the extra amount added to the bill by the leak, which should be pretty easy to show with records

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DarkKnyt t1_j6mk1t6 wrote

Really good comments all around and thanks for affirming that you can split a common bill as long as it is specific enough in the lease.

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[deleted] t1_j6iq5mc wrote

Probable kids coming home doing laundry and there friends. Plus extra showers.

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