Topic: Charging residents water upon renewal

Help!!! I am at a community that will now start charging the residents water upon renewal. We have individually metered each apartment and the residents will be charged for their consumption.

Upon renewal, we will not be giving rental increases to help offset the frustration as we are a lower income community.

I am looking for anyone who can give me suggesions or phrases I can use to construct a positive letter to the residents up for renewal. I am just drawing a blank!!

Please help, it will be greatly appreciated!

Hi Jenni,

I went through the same thing! What I can tell you is this: we have reduced water consumption by almost 40%. Before we implemented our program - a RUBS program - we installed water saving fixtures and features in each apartment (low flow) and explained to Residents that it would be greatly appreciated if they would report any leaking faucets, running toilets, etc. as it will reduce overall usage.

Because we tried to educate everyone prior to their renewals it was not too traumatic for them to learn they would be charged for water. I carefully explained how the program worked when the residents came in to sign renewal leases. I did not explain it in their renewal letter; instead I called them and told them they needed to come in for a renewal apointment so I could explain everything in detail.

Thank you Mindy! The residents have an idea it is coming as we have done the low flow products, changed out toilets, etc. They also had meters installed.

I would love to meet with the residents, but with my crew, they wil lnot take the time to come in. I have started to compose a cute letter and also explained to them that they will not be getting a rental increase. We will be capping the water, but with low income, it will still impact them. I guess I am just going to have to send out a round of letters and see how that works for me. :S

Hi Jenni,

I echo what Mindy mentioned in her response. I too went through several conversions to residents paying water. As Mindy shared, education is really important and how you sell it. I remember setting up a chart at one community that I managed that showed the drop in usage each month. We made a big deal out of it and made it fun. The fact that you are not hitting them with a rent increase as well should help, too. I am not sure what market you are in but this is pretty typical--renters having to pay for water. When you get focused on "conserving water" it often changes the mentality of residents--they want to do their part. I expect that your consumption will go down because they will be paying attention to their usage and their bill. It's amazing how that works! ;)

Good luck!

Thanks Maria! This is currently a part section 8 community. It seems that other lower income properties in my area don't seem to be charging for water. I am sure I will get some residents who move, but I think it will be a good thing as I am also trying to get out the deadbeats and trouble residents so maybe it will improve our property :)

Jenni, I am not sure how you avoid having the Resident come in since they will not be renewing the actual language of the old lease, but will in fact now be signing a lease that contains language regarding the utility change. For Section 8 residents, this is a big deal since I thought your HUD contract would also have to be adjusted and this change requires approval. Maybe I am wrong about that. In any event, in my opinion, I think it is good to teach conservation to our residents! Water waste happens a lot and I never thought anything about it until we started charging back for water. There is no reason why an Owner should have to pay out $32,000 annually for water! (That is the avearge amount spent annually at this property.) Good luck!

Not something here I know a whole lot about, but it does strike me odd that USDA-Rural Development pays both water and gives an electric allowance, where by Section 8 (HUD) does not.

I guess the RD tenants are getting over big time.

We sub-metered all our utilities a year ago and it went very smoothly. We did cut our rents by the amount we estimated the average utilities would be for each type of apartment and then did rent increases based on that lower amount. We then had a meeting with interested tenants and reps from the metering company. Few tenants showed up but they went away more satisfied and I think others appreciated the opportunity to meet. Finally our message was that sub-metering gives you an opportunity to pay only for what you use. Most people think they use less than average and in fact most do. I think we went down about 15% but we had already gone through a lot of water conservation measures and have a reasonably conscientious tenant group. A few people want to be hogs and will move, and probably should.

I like the analogy: would you rent out cars that include unlimited gas? Of course not, it would be crazy. But isn't that what we do with "utilities included?" We have cut our utility usage considerably since sub-metering. We also do tell prospective residents what the average utilities are for each type of apartment so they know what to expect. We are market rate but I hope this helps.

If your property is low income and you are forced to bill residents for any utilities; 2 things you have to make sure you and your residents understand:

1) On theit TIC form, there is a place for a Utilty Allowance to offset costs of critical utilities (electric, gas, water). Does this change affect the utility allowance you have to pass along?
2) Check with your utility providers to find out if they have any programs that offer low income customers a discount. Some may have forms that they need to fill out and submit with proof of income, which you can provide the forms and copies of what they provided you when you certified their income.

Jenni,
The individual meters should be one of your key talking points. Try to emphasize the fact that this is in lieu of a rent increase, as you mentioned in your original question, and that by installing an individual meter you are giving them the opportunity to control their costs. By letting them know they are in control of the increase instead of just another rent increase that they don’t have any control over it should make the transition a little easier. Obviously you will want to word it a little different than this, but hopefully this gives you a place to start. I also try to discourage using caps because it just lets the high users know they can go crazy without worrying about high bills. Maybe just don’t make this one of you talking points unless you feel it will help with accepting the change. If you would like to discuss just give me a call, 949-391-8466. I have been on the billing side of utility recovery programs for about 17 years and don’t mind helping out when I can.

Hi Jenni,

I would recommend the following letter:

Dear Residents,

ABC Apartments would like to announce that we have completed the metering of each apartment, and will now commence in providing our tenants monthly consumption invoices via ABC Billing Services. We know this is a new utility responsibility to get adjusted to, so management has taken the opportunity to search for good tips on how to maintain low consumption.

Ready to get saving? Here’s how:
• Check for a toilet leak. Put a little bit of dye or food coloring in the toilet tank and come back in a half-hour. If the color appears in the bowl, you have a toilet leak that is literally flushing water down the drain. To reduce the drain on your water bill, fix the leak or talk to apartment maintenance. Many toilet repairs are easy and inexpensive. Often the problem is just an ill-fitting rubber flapper. If you think your flapper might be killing your water bill, just turn off the water supply valve for the toilet and take the old flapper to your local home improvement store.
• Beef up your toilet tank. If you don’t have a low-flow toilet, reduce the amount of water you use for each flush by weighing down a few drinking water bottles and putting them in the tank. If you have at least three gallons in the tank (as opposed to four or five), you’ll get clean flushes and save water and money on every flush.
• Use low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. These handy water-saving devices maintain the pressure of your water outlets while using less water to do it. An aerator can really make a huge difference to your water bill. Some water utility companies will give you these parts for free – call the number on your water bill and ask.
• Take shorter showers. Not only will quicker showers save on your water bill, but they’ll reduce the amount you spend on gas or electricity to heat that water. You can try turning the water off while soaping up and turning it back on to rinse.
• Don’t run the water when brushing your teeth. Your water bill takes a dousing when you blast water while brushing.
• Don’t use your toilet as a trashcan. Reduce your water bill charges by using your bathroom trashcan for tissues, cigarette butts and other trash.
• Don’t use running water on a razor. After you shave, just pour some water in a cup and stir vigorously to clean the razor. Opening the taps on your razor is a good way to run up your bill.
• Only run laundry and the dishwasher when you have a full load. Many small loads hit your water bill – and your electric/gas bill, because of the energy needed to heat water – a lot harder than a handful of big loads.
• When you rinse dishes, don’t leave the tap open. Instead, fill a sink basin or plastic basin with rinse water. If you don’t have the space, just put the soapy dishes on a dish rack and then rinse them with a spray hose or pan full of water.

In addition to the above tips, ABC Apartments in consideration of the added utility cost to our residents has agreed to suspend rental rates increase this year upon renewal.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Management

I agree and disagree with you, Pedro.

The OP has indicated that the maintenance team has already installed watersaving fixures and repaired all potential leaks; so the resident does not need to do much of this work.

I would revise it to read:

Dear Residents,

ABC Apartments would like to announce that we have completed the metering of each apartment, and will now commence in providing our tenants monthly consumption invoices via ABC Billing Services. We know this is a new utility responsibility to get adjusted to, so management has taken the opportunity to search for good tips on how to maintain low consumption.

Your maintenance team has already performed many of the major repairs to put you on the path to savings. These include:
• Checked for plumbing leaks and repaired as appropriate.
• Installed low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. These handy water-saving devices maintain the pressure of your water outlets while using less water to do it. An aerator can really make a huge difference to your water bill.

Things you can do include:
• Take shorter showers. Not only will quicker showers save on your water bill, but they’ll reduce the amount you spend on gas or electricity to heat that water. You can try turning the water off while soaping up and turning it back on to rinse.
• Don’t run the water when brushing your teeth. Your water bill takes a dousing when you blast water while brushing.
• Don’t use your toilet as a trashcan. Reduce your water bill charges by using your bathroom trashcan for tissues, cigarette butts and other trash.
• Don’t use running water on a razor. After you shave, just pour some water in a cup and stir vigorously to clean the razor. Opening the taps on your razor is a good way to run up your bill.
• Only run laundry and the dishwasher when you have a full load. Many small loads hit your water bill – and your electric/gas bill, because of the energy needed to heat water – a lot harder than a handful of big loads.
• When you rinse dishes, don’t leave the tap open. Instead, fill a sink basin or plastic basin with rinse water. If you don’t have the space, just put the soapy dishes on a dish rack and then rinse them with a spray hose or pan full of water.
* Beef up your toilet tank. If you don’t have a low-flow toilet, reduce the amount of water you use for each flush by weighing down a few drinking water bottles and putting them in the tank. If you have at least three gallons in the tank (as opposed to four or five), you’ll get clean flushes and save water and money on every flush.

In addition to the above tips, ABC Apartments in consideration of the added utility cost to our residents has agreed to suspend rental rates increase this year upon renewal.

(in the event of an affordable property with low income households) The local utility providers do offer programs that provide discounts you may qualify for. We have attached the necessary forms you need to submit in order to receive these discounts. Feel free to come to the office and pick up copies of your proof of income; as you will need to submit this information as well.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Management