As a property owner, bodies corporate or property manager, water efficiency at a property must be of prime importance. Australia is the driest continent on earth where water preservation is critical. Water efficiency helps with sustainability and saves you considerable amounts of money on your water bills.
What Makes A Property Water Efficient?
Water efficiency has become a somewhat ‘buzzword’ these days but let’s get straight to its true meaning which is part of the legislation in Australia. Each Australian state has its own criteria for water efficiency. Check your state’s criteria. In general, a property is deemed water efficient, especially a rental property if it has the following:
- Flow testing of all the properties Internal taps & mixer taps for kitchen sinks, laundries and bathroom hand basins
- Dual flush toilet suites (Government rebates apply in most states)
- Water saving showerheads
- Star rated hot water system
- No leaking taps (at the start of the tenancy or when the other water efficiency measures are installed)
- Water efficient washing machine (Government rebates apply in most states)
- Water alarm (optional but ideal)
- Water flow monitoring system (optional but ideal)
Get Your Plumbing Tested
We can’t emphasise enough the importance of getting a fully licensed and qualified plumber to come out and test your plumbing for water efficiency. This should be at the top of your to-do list. If it isn’t you or your tenant might be paying hundreds of extra dollars on water usage. This is a surprisingly common occurrence at many properties across Australia. Avoid this and book a plumber to conduct a thorough check for you. They will write up a water wise report for you which is in accordance with regulatory guidelines. From this, a property owner can forward the water charges to tenants, if applicable (this depends on state guidelines).
Tenants Water Usage
This can be a somewhat grey area for many property owners, bodies corporates and property managers. The reason being that the legislation is different in each Australian state and the type of water meter determines who pays for usage. Rental premises that are individually metered will have a tenancy agreement that states that the tenant must pay for water usage. However, if a rental property doesn’t meet the water efficiency criteria you can’t legitimately charge your tenants for water usage. If the meter is shared as often is the case with blocks of flats than the owner must pay for water usage.
Liabilities as A Property Owner
If your rental property doesn’t meet water efficiency standards you are liable to refund any water rate fees for water used that you have charged your tenant(s). This occurs if your tenant(s) challenge your right in passing on these costs to them. It’s crucial that as a landlord you have adequate cover and avoid unforeseen expenses. A part of this is knowing what you can and cannot charge your tenant(s) according to latest legislation.
How water efficient is your property? Is it meeting government standards? Get one of our expert plumbers to come out and do an assessment.
