A frustrated tenant is running out of options because their landlord refuses to fix an error in their water bill costing them hundreds of dollars.
According to the post, the Redditor's water bill is incorrectly charging them an exorbitant amount, claiming the tenant and her husband have used over 21,000 gallons of water in just 18 days.
That amount is an astronomical amount of water usage for just two people. To put this number in context, the average American family only uses 300 gallons of water a day, per the Environmental Protection Agency.
After talking to the city directly, the tenant found out that the water bill is so high because it's charging them 24 hours of usage as a result of a leak. The tenant then found the leak in their front yard, took pictures of it, and reached out to maintenance.
However, the maintenance department said there was no leak in the sprinkler system even though a part of the sidewalk is always wet, according to the tenant. The ongoing battle with maintenance and their landlord had yet to be resolved as of the tenant's latest update to the post in late August.
"What should my next steps be?" asked the tenant.
The r/LandlordLove forum offered potential solutions for the aggravating situation.
"Yeah your landlord is obviously trying to keep you on the hook for that huge bill then," wrote one user. "What a mess. I'd be looking for a rental lawyer."
"If you're in an apartment complex, how do you have the outdoor sprinklers on your meter?" asked another Redditor. "Why aren't they on a separate meter?"
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time landlords have overcharged a tenant for their water bill. In similar situations, landlords have ignored fixing leaks, expecting tenants to pay massive water bills. However, in certain cases, renters may have grounds for a lawsuit.
Across the U.S., landlords have also been caught preventing tenants from adopting money-saving, eco-friendly updates. Luckily, renters can still work with their landlords and revise their bylaws to change established rules.
"They're watering the lawn with your water?" commented one user. "I'd look into a tenants rights legal group."
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