Who likes to pay bills? No one, including your residents, but because we all do, it’s essential to understand how and why we are being billed.
You Can’t Bill Me for That!
One of the top reasons residents complain about their utility bills is that they don’t understand the methodology. If billing is outsourced to a third-party, it can add another layer of confusion as to why the utility provider isn’t billing them directly.
Measuring Water Usage and Billing
During the leasing phase, thoroughly reviewing the property’s methods for all billable utilities is essential.
Many residents don’t understand submetering vs allocated, who sets utility rates, average water consumption, etc. Resident education is a proactive way to prevent future billing complaints.
Whether residents are billed for their actual usage or with an allocated formula, many don’t believe they could possibly use that much water. Our call center receives calls every day related to what residents perceive as high usage—“I’m never home and couldn’t possibly use that much water.”
Many residents are surprised by average home water usage. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each person uses an average of 82 gallons of water a day. The average family can waste 180 gallons per week or 9,400 gallons annually just from leaks.
Multifamily Housing Poses Unique Conservation Challenges
Conservation can be challenging for single-family homes, but when you factor in how utilities are managed in a multifamily community, it can add another layer of complexity:
- Resident habits can hinder conservation efforts.
- Many residents see no relationship between the amount of water they use and their living cost on the property.
- Residents often aren’t aware of leaks or don’t report them when discovered.
If your property is submetered, your onsite team must work closely with maintenance and residents to ensure any issues are reported early. Your property loses revenue when the meters or AMR system isn’t maintained. As part of positioning a billing program positively with your residents, they expect to have working meters and accurate measurements of their usage. When a meter or meters go down and they are left unrepaired, you lose money, and the resident loses confidence in the billing method.
What Happens to a Billing Program When Meters Stop Working?
Option 1: Estimate bills
This is only an option if local regulations allow for estimation. Residents accustomed to being charged for their actual usage will question this method.
Option 2: You pay the water bill in its entirety
Not only do you lose revenue, but your operating budget is also negatively impacted.
Utility Billing Success Begins During the Leasing Phase
Make sure your onsite team thoroughly reviews all elements of your property’s utility billing program:
- Billing Methodology
- Average expected water usage
- The importance of reporting running toilets & leaks as soon as they are noticed
- Conservation tips - Provide them upon move-in and send them periodically, particularly during changing seasons.
Audit Your Program Regularly
Onsite teams are busy leasing, and it’s easy to set your program on autopilot. An ongoing program review can help identify issues before they escalate.
- Do billing statements match lease language?
- Does lease language explain how utilities are billed, is it compliant and easy to understand?
- Regularly check for leaks and encourage residents to conduct their checks.
- Work through provider billing anomalies proactively with your onsite team or billing service provider.
- When meter issues are reported, review and complete repairs.
The main theme is to never stop communicating and educating your residents. This starts at the pre-lease and continues throughout the lease.
Find out more about building a successful and custom utility billing program with Minol by contacting a multifamily industry expert.