Apartment landlords are pushing residents to pay for water

water running sinkLOS ANGELES — A new idea, to try and conserve water, could target renters.

LA landlords want apartment residents to pay their own water bills, instead of having unlimited water, included in the rent.

For many in drought-stricken California, the message to cut back on water usage falls on deaf ears. But some landlords in LA believe one way to get people to listen is to hit them in their pocketbooks.

“We could not have done this soon enough,” Arnie Corlin, AAGLA Director, said.

Corlin is a Director with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. The group that represents landlords is lobbying the mayor to support a proposal that would make tenants in rent-controlled buildings pay for their building’s monthly water bill in exchange for reduced rent. They believe this would increase conservation.

“It works for tenants and owners alike this way,” he said.

Corlin says he has proof from his two side-by-side identical apartment buildings. One with a master meter, the other with submeters, where tenants pay for their own water.

“In the building with the master meter, the tenants have actually used twice the amount of water the other building has used,” he said.

“In terms of conservation, it does make sense. If you’re going to be paying for something, you’ll think twice about leaving the faucet running, and if it could result in rent reduction, that’s great,” Joseph Mullins, a downtown LA resident said.

Under the proposal, tenants wouldn’t get their own meters. Instead, how much each tenant paid would be determined by an independent billing company.

“You go by number of facilities in a unit, you can go by number of occupants in a unit, that type of thing,” Corlin said.

Critics say bills should be based on actual use, not a formula.

“Some people do use water more than others. Honestly, I don’t use that much water. So that might be a problem,” Alicia Garcia, a downtown LA resident said.

Corlin tells us if the proposal is adopted, it would only apply to new tenants.

Source: YourCentralValley.com