Shared Water bill, but unit owners won't fix issues

Fist off you should double check your governing docs to see what they say about including utilities in assessments. And check the bylaws as well - my community's bylaws note that doing so can provide an unfair advantage to some owners and an unfair disadvantage to others.

We looked into installing separate meters in our condo buildings (townhouses already are separate). It was a significant expense. And we would probably need to get homeowner approval for this. The people who live with others benefit from the current situation, so we wouldn't have the necessary votes.

I assume that asking the city to re-plumb is a non-starter. Your buildings are the HOA's responsibility unless there is some agreement with the city over this. Even if there is, the city has no incentive here unless the agreement spells out their obligations.

What we've done:

* The manager reviews the water bills each month so that we spot unusual usage right away.

* Educate the owners about how much money they're wasting if the toilet leaks or the water softener runs non-stop.

* Point out that neglected plumbing can leak and damage adjacent units (which the owner of the leaking plumbing would be responsible for repairing).

* Leaking plumbing can also lead to mold, and having to deal with mold remediation is not fun and is pricey.

* Encourage people to report issues.

I feel your pain. But this is an issue that may not have a good solution.

In one condo I owned the association decided to pay for the repairs to leaking plumbing fixtures in the units. It was cheaper to up a new cartridges and toilet tank kits than pay crazy bills.

I agree with Cathy's comments since my condo is in the same situation.

I am just thinking out loud over here.

If a unit is negligent in their unit maintenance is there a way for the condo association to get reimbursed? That is a question for the discussion board. The docs spell out that it's a common expense. However the docs does not disallow going after a unit owner negligence.

If we had a unit owner that did damage to other unit or the common area that is straightforward however I think there might be an opportunity for getting reimbursed for this situation. Your thoughts?

BarryP2, from experience, first, check with the city water department about whether customers have online access to real-time water usage. I have seen this, even in cities with relatively low-quality infrastructure.

I would be surprised if your governing documents did not give the association some power to inspect toilets. It often takes a trained eye to find the wording. Consider posting your association's declaration here.

One condo association where I lived had inspections of toilets every so often. The maintenance guy dropped a dye tablet into the toilet tank. If the dye showed in the bowl, there's a leak.

Add, it is likely each unit has a shut off valve and a location to put an electronic meter for each unit.

Wow, thank you all for the prompt ideas and responses.

Our HOA is a PUD, and more townhome than Condo. We have 1 story and 2 story Homes some with shared walls, with 1, 2, 3, and 4 Unit structures. Each unit owner actually owns their portion of the structure, but the HOA is there for common grounds, roads, landscaping, sewer and water, exterior maintenance (excluding doors and windows). Given that each Unit is owned outright, we do not have any rights to enter the property without permission.

I will comb through the documents with more detail to see what recourse we have, and we are discussing the option of offering plumbing inspections as well. We give out the blue die toilet leak detectors every summer already, so we may. need to dig deeper into the idea bucket.

Thanks everyone