More than half of Houston’s residents are renters, many living in apartment complexes scattered across the city. For those who pay their water bill to their landlord rather than directly to the water department, disputing discrepancies in the bill can become a complex and frustrating process.
Inaccurate water billing for renters
KPRC 2 Investigative reporter Amy Davis has been digging into water billing issues for years as part of her ongoing “DRAINED” Investigation. Her work has led to significant changes for residential customers, but many of these changes do not apply to renters.
Davis explains that if your apartment complex isn’t submetered, there is no definitive way to track your exact water usage each month. According to the Texas Administrative Code, landlords have only two legal methods to determine a tenant’s monthly water bill. However, if you believe you’re being overcharged, correcting the bill can be a daunting task.
Kembrae Sanders’ Struggle with water bills
Kembrae Sanders, a Houston renter, found herself in this exact predicament. Living alone in a 975-square-foot apartment after her son left for college, Sanders had consistently paid between $53 and $63 for her monthly water bill over the past decade. But in April, her bill unexpectedly surged to $123.
When Sanders inquired with the apartment management about the increase she was told it was due to a tax hike by the City of Houston. However, when she reached out to the third-party billing company handling the allocated bills, she hit a dead end. Both the apartment management and the billing company refused to provide detailed explanations because Sanders was not their direct customer—her landlord was.
The Complications of Non-Submetered Apartments
In Texas, for apartments that are not submetered, landlords can divide the total water bill for the complex among tenants using a formula based on the number of occupants, the square footage of each unit, or a combination of both.
Landlords are legally required to show tenants the formula they use, the complex’s total water bill, and the amount billed to all tenants.
Sanders’ landlord, Green Arbor Apartments, failed to provide this information. Instead, they based her bills on an outdated occupancy count of three people, despite Sanders having informed them two years prior that only she and her son remained in the apartment.
Frustrated with the inaccurate billing, Sanders questioned why she was being charged for three occupants. The response from the management was dismissive, with no offer to adjust her bill or provide compensation.
Seeking resolution through the Public Utility Commission
After receiving no satisfactory answers from her landlord or the billing company, Sanders filed a complaint with the Public Utility Commission (PUC). The PUC has the authority to enforce state regulations. Within days of her complaint, Sanders saw her $111 bill mysteriously reduced to $30.77, without any explanation.
For renters like Sanders, every dollar counts, especially when managing a household on a budget. Sanders, a mother with a child in college, was relieved to see the reduced bill but remains concerned about the lack of transparency.
What Renters Can Do
If you suspect your water bill from your landlord is inaccurate and they refuse to show how they calculated the charges, it’s essential to file a complaint with the PUC’s Customer Protection Division. This step could potentially save you from overpaying and hold the responsible parties accountable.
KPRC 2′s ‘DRAINED’ Investigation 2 years in the works
The KPRC 2 ‘DRAINED’ Investigation works to get you results. You may know in May seven people were charged in a water line repair scandal after Amy Davis exposed shady contract dealings. This is after the entire Houston water department changed the way they bill Houston customers. Customers are being billed averages until it’s confirmed they have working meter sensors. Check out more information about the plan here.
All of this is in addition to the massive amount of money Amy and the team have helped claw back for customers with high and confusing water bills.
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