Water woes plague landlords

Georgia McLeod, property owner, recently had to pay a $323 water bill that was left by the tenants who rented one of her 17 homes.

McLeod approached the City Council Nov. 19 during its regular meeting to talk about her concern with the "lack of assistance" provided in these situations.

"I can't run my business without water, so I am forced to co-sign with my renters to get the water turned on," McLeod said. "However, I have no control over the usage amount or having the water turned off, even though I ultimately may have to pay their bill."

Many landlords keep the water bill in their name and charge the tenants extra, which seems to cause excess usage from tenants and not many property owners can afford to allow that.

"Normal usage is around 3,000 gallons a month," Kelly Hefner, head of the city water department said. "The property (owned by McLeod) used eight times the normal amount of water."

Hefner said in all cases the water department alerts the people in he home that they are using water in excess and there could be a problem. It is then the tenants' responsibility to notify the property owner of a possible leak or issue with the water system.

"We approached this home on three separate occasions." Hefner said. "There are three people in our office and we are very busy; we have 4,500 properties to keep up with."

McLeod brought the issue to the city's attention at the meeting to see if the water company could contact her and other rental owners, rather than tenants in these circumstances when there is an overage or an unpaid bill.

"I don't want the city to wait until there is a $300 overdue bill to tell me there is an issue with my water," McLeod said.

Mayor Dale Fowler and Hefner have been in talks to push an ordinance that will require the water bills be in the business owners name, so they are aware of what the properties are using. This plan would affect all landlords as owning rental property is considered a business. At this time, no final decisions have been made on that plan.

Though this was McLeod's first time, in her 25 years in business, of having to pay a tenant's water bill, she said she worries that this will happen again.

"The water department has to operate with how the city says we operate," Hefner said. " Once she (McLeod) assigns that property to someone else, there is a lot of law that governs personal information."

Hefner says that the city makes every effort to collect money from those that use the water, but the water cannot be turned on at a residence once it has been shut off for non-payment until the bill is paid in full. At that point it is up to the landlord to decide whether to leave the property vacant and allow the water department to try and collect from the tenants or pay the bill to restore the water service.

Even though McLeod still believes that forcing a landlord to co-sign on a water bill is unlawful, one fact remains, property owners are ultimately responsible for their properties.

In a final comment Hefner said, "I am really proud of the ladies that work in our office, they do a great job, our office manager Emily Upchurch does an amazing job."