The landlord/ property owner is ultimately responsible for the charges at the property, regardless of:

• any billing arrangement we may have with the landlord/owner
• provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 dealing with liability for water and wastewater charges between landlords and tenants.

For more information, see the customer contract.

The government site Tenancy Services has information for landlords and tenants about paying the water bill:

• Utilities and other payments
• Water and wastewater charges

By law we must provide a continuous supply of water, as it is essential for survival. Unlike other utilities such as power or gas, we cannot turn off the service.

We supply the service to the property, not to individual tenants. This means that the landlord or property owner must ensure the continuous water supply is paid for.

It is up to the landlord and tenant to agree on who will pay each part of the bill.

If a tenant is paying the usage (volumetric) part of the water bill, landlords should:

• Give the tenant authority to talk to us about bills and payments.

Learn about authorising tenants

To authorise a tenant, contact us:

• Phone (09) 442 2222, press 3.
• Email info@water.co.nz

You may also want to choose the one-off fixed charge payment (an option for landlords/property managers).

For all the details, see Authorising tenants.

Our contract is with the property owner (the customer). If a customer appoints a project manager and draws up an agreement (PMA), we need a signed copy of it. When dealing with the property manager we can only do what the PMA allows – for instance, requesting a refund or authorising tenants.

TIP: Before sending us a signed PMA, it would be helpful to send us a draft, so that we can make sure the project manager has the authority we may require.

Yes. If you own or manage a tenanted property, you can pay the fixed charge for wastewater as an upfront payment once a year in July.

Learn more and opt in: Fixed charge payment

It depends on the arrangement with the property manager, but usually the property manager pays the account in full. Then the owner or tenants pay other charges separately, depending on the agreements they have.

Learn more about the fixed charge payment

The first and last names of the owner will be printed on the bill. If there are more than three owners of a property the names may not all be printed.

The name of any person who is not a legal owner will not be on the bill. This is because the contract is between Watercare and the owner.

Commercial tenants/lessees

When the bill is sent to a commercial tenant, the owner’s name will be printed on the first line of the postal address. No employee name will be printed on the bill.

To change the name on the bill from the owner to the lessee, please complete the change of non-domestic lease form, including the direct debit form.

If the request comes from the owner, bills can be sent to a tenant without a completed change of non-domestic lease form.

Yes, you can sign up for e-billing. You can have bills emailed to multiple addresses, including tenants.

Bills can be sent to a tenant at the owner’s request (by post or email). See e-billing.

• No names of tenants will be on the bill.
• The second line of the postal address will say c/- The Tenant.
• The owner will have an email copy of the bill sent to them.

See also above: Whose name is on the bill?

Generally it is the landlord’s/owner’s responsibility to fix leaks and pay for any repairs. Tenants should notify the landlord as soon as there is a problem. However, it depends on the agreement with the tenant.

It is important to fix leaks quickly to minimise property damage and avoid high water bills.

TIP: Set up an agreement about repairing leaks, including what to do when the landlord is unavailable. See also: Leak repairs