national multiple family submetering and allocation billing program ...

Summary of Owner Perspective
In most cases, billing separately for water and wastewater will increase the owner’s net
operating income and property value. Despite the initial capital investment, submetering can be
a cost-effective option for owners. In addition, submetering technology has improved so that the
cost for submetering new construction and submetering most existing properties is reasonable.
In the case of allocation, there is no initial investment and the payback is immediate. Owners
could use this increase in income to improve overall water efficiency on the property, including
fixture upgrades. Nevertheless, before converting to a separate billing system, owners should be
aware of the applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE
Perceived Benefits
Residents can benefit from submetering by gaining more control over their total housing
costs. Residents often do not realize that they are paying for water, albeit indirectly, when it is
included in the rent. By maintaining a system where the property owner pays the overall water
bill, residents are more vulnerable to rent increases due to leaks, wasteful habits, and rising water
prices. Through submetering, residents have an incentive to report leaks and modify other
aspects of their water using behavior 31 – actions that can be rewarded through a lower water bill.
In the short term, residents do experience an increase in monthly bills, but in the long term, rental
prices are likely to come into equilibrium due to competition. In addition, residential water
conservation contributes to a larger effort that helps to remove the need for future water rate
hikes. RUBS can reap the same benefits if all residents are equally committed to monitoring
their water use. However, because of its potential for inequity, resident benefits associated with
RUBS are not guaranteed.
31 In this study, reported resident actions taken to conserve water from the resident survey can be seen in Table 4.14.
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