Good day,

Appreciated if any property guru or lawyer here could consult in the case of the high water bill charged which caused by underground pipe leakage/broken (diagnosed and fixed), should the high charged bill bear by the landlord or tenant ?

around 4k, few months accumulation as happened in MCO period and tenant unable to monitor the high bill

P/s :
- Landlord had pay to fixed the piping concern
- Air selangor rejected the appeal of cost reduction

Thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by officeBoy: Dec 9 2021, 09:34 PM

As a landlord, one cannot 'surrender' the property to the tenant once the TA is signed.

If one has a responsible tenant, then he will update the landlord on any problems with the property.

Landlord must also do periodic inspection to prevent any serious damages caused by the tenant or otherwise (wear and tear). Do not depend on the tenant.

Regarding utilities, landlord can monitor the billing through the apps. Any unusual usage or outstanding payment can be detected and then approach the tenant for clarification.

For the 4k bill, landlord bear the bill for the month the leak was detected and the balance on the tenant or any agreeable sharing. But if the tenant refuses, then owner take it up and decide whether want to renew the TA when due.

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Dec 9 2021, 11:42 PM

For tenant, what if the landlord doesn't want to bear the cost ?

Leave the outstanding unpaid and wait for the authority to do disconnection.

The likely scenario ....

If the tenant wants to continue staying, then he will start to pay .... possible by instalment with agreement from the authority and ......

1. May not continue to pay rental under 'protest' and eventually vacate the property once the security deposits covered the shortfall rental; or

2. May not continue to pay rental under 'protest'.

yup, the authority had disconnected it , however for tenant who needs to do business will be inconvenient , at the end, tenant still needs to bear the cost to avoid disruption to facilitate the biz?

is there any party can come into help on the dispute? this is actually happen to my sister as her daycare facing such issue, if she don't pay to reconnect the water supply, then children can't take bath for refreshing..

Let me share my experienced as a tenant .....

My office unit monthly water bill is minimum charge 60 per month. One of those month, the bill shot up to 100+ and I discovered that there was a faulty float connector which is not able to shut off supply when the reserve tank is full.

The landlord ask me to engage a plumber to replace it and to deduct the repair bill and difference in the next month's rental.

In your sis case, my opinion, the landlord should bear the difference on the month bill when it was first detected and the rest by the tenant since the tenant is in control of the property albeit it is mco.

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Dec 10 2021, 01:20 PM

Check with few property agents, they told Landlord should bear the cost, however my sis should pass the bill to landlord first rather than settled the bill by herself

I am sure your sister have oredi discuss with the landlord when she first received the bill. If the landlord is willing to settle the bill, I dont think there is a problem in the first place and he would have ask her to deduct from the rental.

Anyway, third party opinions are not important.

Both have to sit down to talk and agree to some form of sharing. If nego fails, then terminate the TA.

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Dec 16 2021, 06:03 AM

Landlord only bear the cost after tenant report. Anything before that tenant pay.

Hmm, here the tricky one, my sis went settled the bill first due to water supply halted and reported to Air selangor about high bill due to the centre reopen after MCO lifted announcement, air selangor changed the new meter device.

Now ... is it faulty meter of broken underground pipe ?

After bypassing a suspected pipe, an underground pipe was determined to be damaged (multi-level shop lot)

One difficulty is that the water must be reconnected before the leak can be discovered, and the centre requires water for the children's bath.

This post has been edited by officeBoy: Dec 17 2021, 09:13 PM

Meaning when all taps are turn off and the meter is moving ?

I am surprise the water authority changed the meter if is not faulty.

Yes, all taps were turned off, however my sister did not turn off the metre device, and the leakage occurred in one of the subterranean pipes (sealed beneath of the building) that was connected to the metre, with no leakage occurring in any taps inside the building.

The building has four floors (age >30 years), three water supply pipes connected from a single metre, one of the pipes leaked which seals underneath the building due to wear and tear, and the leakage is invisible to the naked eye because the pipe is hidden underground. Nothing occurs to the exterior taps from the inside of the building.