Do renters pay water bills? Your questions answered
Splitting a bill between housemates might be easy enough – but splitting a water and sewerage bill with your landlord (or tenant) can be a bit trickier.
Landlords are allowed to pass on parts of the water bill to their tenants.
If you live in Brisbane, Ipswich, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and Somerset, this bill will come from Urban Utilities, your water provider.
Here’s what renters and landlords should know about their obligations when it comes to water and sewerage bills in South East Queensland.
Do tenants pay water bills?
The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act allows for landlords to pass on the full water usage costs to tenants, provided these criteria have been met:
- The rental premises are individually metered (or water is delivered by vehicle)
- The rental premises are water efficient
- The tenancy agreement states the tenant must pay for water consumption (this is found in item 12.2 of your tenancy agreement)
Bills from Urban Utilities cover both water and sewerage, as we provide both of these services. It’s important to note that landlords can only pass on water usage charges to their tenants.
Water usage charges: can be passed on to the tenant
A typical water bill is split into four separate charges, only two of which are for water usage: the State bulk water price and the Urban Utilities distributor-retailer price.
The State bulk water price is what Urban Utilities pays for water from the QLD Government. We pass it on to you without any markup.
The Urban Utilities distributor-retailer price helps pay for transporting world-class water to your home – plus a 24/7 testing regime to make sure it’s safe.
Water and sewerage service charges: cannot be passed on to the tenant
The water service charge and sewerage service charge are not related to water usage and cannot be passed onto tenants.
The water service charge goes towards the maintenance, upgrade and repair of all water pipes, pumps, plants and reservoirs. It also funds fire-fighting capacity, 24/7 response crews, a local contact centre with 24/7 faults and emergencies support and the expansion of the network as our regions grow.
The sewerage service charge helps us maintain, upgrade and repair sewer pipes, pumps and treatment plants; clean your sewage so it’s safe; and invest in essential infrastructure so everyone can keep on flushing and showering for years to come.
Want to know more about the charges on your bill? Check out this simple bill explainer.
What does ‘water efficient’ actually mean?
One of the requirements landlords must meet under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act before they can pass on the full water usage costs to tenants is that the rental premises must be ‘water efficient’.
You can read the water efficiency section of the Act in full here, but here are the three main water efficiency requirements the property needs to meet:
- Toilets: a dual flush toilet with:
- a maximum water volume of 6.5L for a full flush and 3.5L for a half flush
- an average flush volume of not more than 4L
- Shower heads: a maximum flow rate of 9L a minute
- Internal cold water taps e.g. bathroom, kitchen, laundry: a maximum flow rate of 9L a minute.
The RTA advises that if the landlord is planning on passing on the water usage charges to the tenant, this should be negotiated at the start of the tenancy agreement, and the water efficiency of the property should be noted on the entry condition report. They may need to provide evidence of water efficiency - either from the WELS rating of the fixtures (look for three stars or higher) or a certificate from a licensed plumber stating the premises is water efficient - but this is not legally required.
Can Urban Utilities send bills directly to tenants?
Urban Utilities bills go to the registered property owner. We get this information directly from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) - also known as the Titles Office – who notify us about new parcels of land, subdivisions, amalgamations and sales/ownership changes.
We’re unable to issue bills to tenants. We also do not issue ‘tenant notices’.
If you’re a tenant who has received a water bill from your landlord, you’re entitled to water usage and meter reading information – things like:
- Water meter reading dates
- Water usage
- Average daily usage
The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) has a handy fact sheet on its website which has lots of information about billing tenants for water.
How quickly does a landlord need to pass on a water bill?
New laws received Assent on 6 June 2024 stating that a tenant must receive utility bills within four weeks unless the managing party has a reasonable excuse - otherwise the tenant does not need to pay.
These laws will commence on a date yet to be announced, as part of the Queensland Government’s 'fairer fees and charges' reforms.
Here's how the Queensland Government Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works describes the changes:
“Rental property owners can pass on some service charges to renters, such as for water consumption, if certain criteria are met. Under current rental laws, there is no set timeframe for providing these charges to renters for payment.
“Some renters receive multiple bills at once, often when their tenancy ends, which can be a large and unexpected cost and may also prevent renters from monitoring and managing their usage. “When the reforms commence, rental property owners or managers will have to provide renters with utility bills that the renter is responsible for paying within 4 weeks from when the rental property owner receives the bill from the relevant authority.
“The renter will not be required to pay the utility bill if it is not provided within the required timeframe. This reform will make fees and charges fairer. It will commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.”
I'm moving out – what happens to my water bills?
If you’re a residential tenant, you don’t need to tell us you’re moving. Same if you’re the owner.
The water and sewerage account remains linked to the property title, so the account automatically transfers to the new owner upon transfer of the title at settlement. Once the Titles Office has notified us about the change of ownership, we’ll send the new owner a letter confirming the account activation.
Handy links for renters
About Urban Utilities
Established on July 1, 2010, Urban Utilities is one of the largest water distributor-retailers in Australia, providing water and sewerage services to more than 1.6 million residents in South East Queensland. Our 14,384km2 geographic area is made up of the five local government areas of Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset.