Pay fixed charge annually

We calculate your fixed wastewater charge for the annual billing period (from July to June of the upcoming year) as an upfront payment.  

You will then receive your July water bill. This will be higher than usual as it will include the upfront payment for the year.

View the current charge.

Your monthly water bill is normally split into two parts:

• Volumetric charge: this pays for the water the tenant uses each month.
•  Fixed charge: this pays for collecting the wastewater outflow from your property. The charge is spread across 12 monthly bills on a pro-rata (proportional) basis.

Learn more about how we calculate our charges

In the past, most landlords and tenants have split the water bill every month, between

• fixed charge (paid by landlords) and

• volumetric charges (paid by tenants)

The annual, one-off payment simplifies the process for landlords, property managers and tenants, making splitting the bill a thing of the past.

The payment option is not available in these four situations:

1. You have a shared meter set-up, where the fixed charge is shared over multiple dwellings.

2. You have a master meter with subsidiary meters (including deduction meters).

3. Your property has no water meter and you pay a notional fixed wastewater charge per month.    

The annual bill showing your fixed charge will have a bigger total than normal.
The charges on the bill are:

• the monthly volumetric water charge

• the monthly volumetric wastewater charge

• the final pro-rata fixed wastewater charge for the previous billing year

• the full fixed wastewater charge for the upcoming year.  This is your one-off payment. 

We do not separate out the charges. They will appear on the bill once a year as a bulk lot.

For the rest of the year (to the following June), the monthly bills will only set out the charges for the tenant’s water use:

• the monthly volumetric water charge

• the monthly volumetric wastewater charge

Yes. When you opt in to this payment method you must provide the tenant’s contact details.

Choosing this payment method automatically gives us the authority to talk to your tenants about bills, charges and payments, making things even more straightforward for you.

What is an authorised tenant?

No. Choosing this payment method automatically gives us the authority to deal directly with your tenants.

What is an authorised tenant?

The bill is still in the property owner’s name.  Tenants’ names do not appear on the account.

Yes. We will continue to send you a copy of the bill. As you are the property owner, you still have the ultimate responsibility for payment. You still need to let us know about any changes in your tenant arrangements. 
 

Yes. We generate one bill each month. We send one copy to the landlord and one copy to the tenant.

To keep the process simple, we offer this option each July, when any price changes take effect.

You can opt in for the next yearly billing period (1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019) by letting us know by 23 June 2018.

No. Once you have opted in, if we do not hear from you we will continue to bill you the full amount for your fixed charge, once a year in July.
 

(Note: The upfront fixed charge payment is an opt-in service. If you have not opted in you will be billed your fixed charge each month as normal.)

There are three ways to opt out:

1. Complete the online opt-out  form and send it to us.

2. Call us on (09) 442 2222, press 3, then option 1.

3. Send an email 

Please provide this information:

Property details

• Water account number 
• Name of the legal owner
• Address including suburb

 Your details

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address
• Property owner or property manager

Is there a deadline for opting out?

If you have opted in and now wish to cancel, you can opt out of the next yearly billing period by letting us know before 30 June of that year.
For example:
If your opt-in period is July 2017 to June 2018, you can opt out for the next billing year (July 2018 to June 2019). But you must do so by 30 June 2018.

What happens after I opt out?

If you opt out you will return to being billed monthly for your fixed charge from 1 July of the year you opt out.

You have the normal amount of time to pay your July bill – 21 days from the issuing of the bill. (See the due date on your bill.)

As landlord/property manager you must contact your tenant to agree on who pays what – volumetric charges and/or fixed wastewater charges.
 
Depending on your payment agreement, you may need to reimburse the tenant for the one-off fixed charge each year. 
 

No. When you choose this payment method, you have the option to sign your tenant up for e-billing. This means they will receive their copy of the bill via email, rather than by mail, each month. All we need is your tenant’s email address.

If you own or manage multiple tenanted properties and each property has an individual water meter, you can opt in.  Just send us an email with:

• each property’s water account number

• the tenant’s name

• tenant’s email address if you would like them to receive an email copy of their bill.

If you have not opted in we will bill your fixed charge each month as normal.
 

If your account is in arrears (payment is owing) when this process starts, there may be confusion as to how much of the account balance is volumetric versus fixed charge.

We recommend you speak to your tenant to ensure the account is paid up to date before we produce the July bill.

This is why authority to speak to your tenant is a condition of opting in to this service: we can help them to understand how the amount overdue is made up, and which payments are due.

No, this payment option only allows full payment of the fixed charge.  If you wish to make partial payments of your fixed charge, do not opt in.
 

Direct debit payments cover the full amount of the bill each month.
 
If you or your tenants are paying via direct debit, you will need to discuss payment of the July/August bill. This will be higher than usual, as it will include the annual payment for fixed charges. See How we calculate our charges

When you opt out you have the choice to keep your tenant authorised, or to cancel.

If you sell your property, your solicitor will let us know your settlement date.
We will use this to:

• work out the remaining pro-rata amount of your fixed wastewater charge and

• credit that amount to your account.  

For example, if you sell your house in January (seven months after you paid the full fixed charge in July), you would receive a credit to your account of the pro-rated amount for the year remaining (five months).

If your settlement date is July or August, we will automatically opt you out, so that no pro-rata calculation will be needed.

More information on moving house

If a tenant has not paid the monthly bill, the landlord is still ultimately responsible for ensuring it is paid. Our contract is with you as the property owner – see the customer contract.

Learn more about landlord/tenant payment responsibility
 
See also the government site TenancyServices: Water and wastewater charges
 

If you wish to opt in, you can do so before 30 June of that year.

For example, if you bought a property in November 2017, you can opt in for the period July 2018 to June 2019, by letting us know by 30 June 2018. 

More information on moving house
 

If you are the property owner, you are responsible for any costs regardless of whether a tenant is living there. Learn more about your responsibilities. See also the government site TenancyServices.