Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I include water in my rent. For the past six months I have been asking my tenant why his water bill is so high. I have asked him to ensure he is conserving water, I have asked him to check for leaks, running toilets, etc. He told me everything is fine. I recently asked him to document what the water meter read and then again one week later. He never supplied me with the reading, even after I asked a second time. He has given him notice and when I was at the unit to show it I heard the toilet running at least a dozen times during my 2 hours there. I want to charge him for overage for neglecting to tell me the toilet is running. I have four people in my unit (we own a duplex and owner occupy one half) and he has one person. I used 300 gallons of water this month, he used 1600!!!! Overage is not specifically in the lease (we are on a month to month now). Can I charge him since he neglected to alert me to the issue? Please advise, I live in Maine.

If the tenant is on a month to month lease, I would change the lease with proper notice with new terms which would specify that tenant is responsible for overages.........BUT considering the amount is extremely high and you have documentation in writing that you had been asking for info such as leaks, etc... you may be able to force him to pay this amount. If he does not, the worst case scenario is you will end up in court with this as a dispute. The judge will then be the deciding factor. But considering that BIG difference, I think if it were me, I would take the chance. You can always contact a lawyer as well.

Posted by Denise S, PA on Wednesday, October 28, 2009