Landlord: who owes the water bill, you or the tenant?
When a tenant moves in with a balance already on the water account, part of it is yours and part is theirs. Type in the bills and payments and see the split.
The rule. What was owed on the last bill before the move-in date is the owner’s. Everything billed since is the tenant’s, less the tenant’s payments since move-in.
Your numbers
Examples. Change these to yours.The total due on the last bill dated before the move-in day. A bill dated on move-in day covers the time before it, so use that one.
Bills since move-in
Date and the new charges on each bill, not the total due.
Tenant payments since move-in
Date and amount of each payment.
County write-offs and credits change this. The full app handles them.
How the split is worked out
The owner’s part is what was owed on the last bill before the tenant moved in. The tenant’s part starts at zero on the move-in day: add up the new charges on every bill since, then take off what the tenant has paid since. A bill dated on the move-in day covers the time before it, so it stays with the owner. If the tenant has paid more than their own charges, the extra comes off the owner’s old balance.
Nothing here is an estimate. It adds and subtracts the figures you typed. County write-offs, transfers to the tax roll and other credits change the answer, and payments the owner made between that last bill and the move-in day come off the owner’s part. The full app reads both from the utility’s ledger.
Questions people ask
Does a new tenant owe the previous tenant's water bill?
Under this split, no. Anything owed on the last bill before the move-in date stays the owner's. What you can bill to anyone depends on your lease and local rules, and this page is not legal advice.
Why enter the new charges on each bill and not the total due?
The total due on a bill includes any balance carried over from the bill before. Add those totals together and the old balance gets counted again on every bill.
What about county write-offs and credits?
They change the split. A credit, such as a balance moved to the tax roll, clears the owner's older balance first and then the tenant's. This calculator leaves them out. The full water billing app reads them from the utility's ledger and applies them.
Let the water billing app keep the split
The water billing app reads your water accounts every week, makes this split for each tenant, handles the county credits, emails the reminders and keeps the proof. Email only, no texting. $800 to set up, then $125 a month.
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