Burst Hot Water Pipe - Inflated Bills, Who Should Pay?

sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 09:14
Last edited 18/08/2022 - 10:27

Hi Everyone. Looking for some quick recommendations regarding my situation.

I live in a rental property that developed a burst hot water pipe under the house. Simply put, it was not evident up until last week when the water started to accumulate next to the water heater. The agent was quick to organise a plumber who fixed the issue and confirmed that there was no way for me to know that there was a burst. Given this, my water and gas bills have gone through the roof. I have already contacted the retailers and the distributors who have both asked me to take it up with the agent. Although the agent was proactive in getting the issue fixed, they have remained quiet on the issue of inflated bills.

What are my options here and who should foot the bill? Thanks

Edit - It is a gas heater.

Poll Options

  • 62
    Agent/Landlord
  • 21
    Tenant
Home & Garden

Comments

  • SF3 on 18/08/2022 - 09:17
    +8

    Landlord as they should have landlord insurance that should cover this… maybe.

    I would suggest getting your past bills to compare, so you come up with a 'fair' value that was caused by this problem. Provide to them that value, ask how you can be compensated for that? e.g. offset your next rental payment, etc…

    • HeWhoKnows on 19/08/2022 - 16:47

      Its up to the tenant to identify any issues.
      Landlord acted promptly and responsibly to fix the problem as soon as they were notified.
      That is as far as thier responsibility goes.

      There is nothing in your lease nor under the Law that states otherwise.

  • FLICKIT on 18/08/2022 - 09:24
    +8

    water, electricity and gas bills have gone through the roof

    Hmmm, is it a gas or electric heater ?,

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 10:28

      Sorry, it is a gas heater. removed electricity.

  • freefall101 on 18/08/2022 - 09:24
    +8

    how did your electricity bill go through the roof if it's gas hot water?

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 10:28
      +1

      Sorry, it is a gas heater. removed electricity.

      • freefall101 on 18/08/2022 - 11:26
        +4

        In that case look at usage this year to usage last year and whether there was any change, that's the best way to do it. Best to just stick with the facts, take the difference in usage and the current rate, not just the difference in the total bill, and account for any other changes (if you've had other people move in, for example). If you're anything like me, the cold winter means my gas went up anyway so you'll probably get a bit of a benefit there too.

        No matter what the poll says, under Victorian law the landlord is responsible for any excessive usage due to a fault with the property - http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/rta199720…

        • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 11:39

          Thanks for the info. Appreciate it!

  • DemocracyManifest on 18/08/2022 - 09:26
    +1

    Hang on, so there was a leak in the system which was fixed, how much water do you estimate leaked?

    • JimB on 18/08/2022 - 09:37

      18001kl

  • JimB on 18/08/2022 - 09:33
    +1

    What were the previous usage and what was the recent usage?

    Best to find out if it's gas or electricity hot water before you submit a claim with the agent lol

  • SBOB on 18/08/2022 - 09:35
    +9

    wait, was there a burst or a leak?
    a burst is pretty apparent as its full pressure water going everywhere and I assume you'd be without hot water
    a leak would be slow (and align with your "not evident up until last week") and be a much much lower volume of water

    Its unlikely a leak added a MASSIVE amount to your bills, but you'd have to try and justify it based on the amount of water that leaked.

    Compare water bill usage in kL and start from there. Most of the increase in $ is likely unrelated to usage and more related to price changes/increases in base unit costs.

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 10:57

      Thanks. I will compare. The plumber called it a 'Burst'.

  • Muzeeb on 18/08/2022 - 09:36
    +4

    Compare to previous consumption and tariffs before going all Karen.

    when the water started to accumulate next to the water heater.

    Sounds more like a leak than a burst. My BS detector is picking up a lot of drama here.

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 10:54
      +4

      'Burst' is what the plumber used to describe it. Your BS detector needs to calm down.

      • Muzeeb on 18/08/2022 - 11:45
        +3

        yeah nah mate she's burst alright but I'm onduit now she'll be all good mate

      • outlander on 18/08/2022 - 13:05
        +5

        It's standard fare for ozbargain. Everyone here is a super detective, out to catch the primary witness in a lie.

        • brendanm on 18/08/2022 - 15:21
          +5

          Well, when people are after compensation for their electricity bill, on a gas heater, it's quite fair.

  • Quantumcat on 18/08/2022 - 09:37
    +4

    If the landlord fixed it right away they aren't responsible. If they delayed, then yes you could hold them responsible for an increase in bills for the time they delayed.

  • spc12go on 18/08/2022 - 10:02
    +2

    If it’s gas instant hot water, it’s unlike the price would have gone through the roof. Both water and gas would risen slightly. Also depends on where the leak is. If the leak if before it hit the hot water system then it would just be water. If it’s afterwards it would be both water and gas and it still won’t be much anyway.

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 10:41

      It was after.

      • spc12go on 18/08/2022 - 15:38

        Ok even if it’s after, it would only apply to when you use hot water. You should be able to argue about the water charge increase, but not sure how you would argue for the gas charges.

        Given the agent fixed it promptly, not sure if the tribunal would do much. You could ask the argent to talk to the landlord to see if they are willing to compensate you.

  • apple2016 on 18/08/2022 - 10:36
    -1

    Burst Hot Water Pipe - Inflated Bills, Who Should Pay?

    and what proof do you have that the higher bills are due to burst hot water pipe?

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 10:55
      +1

      Continuous leak of hot water?

  • Richmond Tigers on 18/08/2022 - 10:58

    Do you pay for excess water usage?

  • tsunamisurfer on 18/08/2022 - 11:16
    +4

    Not sure if its the same in other states but we had a burst water pipe within our property, unfortunately it was unoccupied at the time so no one knew there was a burst. So thousands of dollars of water was lost.

    We were advised to have it fixed by a 'water wise' certified plumber in Perth and they would provide a certificate of calculations. The Water Corporation would use that calculation together with our historical water use (near zero) to work out how much was lost and give us a rebate.

    • SimbaGirl on 18/08/2022 - 12:18
      +1

      We had a similar thing when we lived in Perth. We were overseas for several weeks and arrived home after a very late night flight to the unwelcome sound of water running outside - found the water pipe from the gas HWS (storage, not instant) had burst and water had been pouring out for god knows how long. We had a park next to our house, so the water was going into that - would have been a different story if it was running into a neighbour's property as it would obviously have been noticed!

      Water Corp were really good - like your situation, it was obvious we didn't know about the leak, so they rebated most of the cost of the excess water. Alinta Gas on the other hand flatly refused to even consider any sort of rebate, so we had to pay a huge gas bill.

      • tsunamisurfer on 18/08/2022 - 12:29
        +2

        Water Corp were really good
        Yeah our rebate ran into a couple of thousands which was a surprise to me, I expected to pay at least half.

        Alinta Gas on the other hand flatly refused to even consider any sort of rebate, so we had to pay a huge gas bill.

        Wonder if its because Alinta is semi gov. So sorry to hear that it was the hot water that leaked, the boiler would have been going 24/7 x Nn days.

        • SimbaGirl on 18/08/2022 - 12:35
          +2

          Yes quite possibly re Alinta - this was about 6 years ago. The stupid thing was, we usually turned the gas off when we were away, but it was a very old HWS and was always a bitch of thing to light again, so I said to my partner (and oh, how I regret this) "don't worry about it this time, it will be nice to have hot water when we get home after all that travelling so we can have a shower" ….

          Not only no hot water when we got home, but no water either - the tap on the old HWS was jammed/rusted in place and we couldn't turn it off, so had to turn the water off at the mains. And of course this was in the early hours of a Sunday morning, so we had to get an emergency plumber out on a Sunday to patch the leak temporarily and then get the HWS etc replaced. It was an expensive welcome home :(.

  • apu on 18/08/2022 - 11:49
    +1

    Inflated compared to what? Have you been there for a few years and can compare to the same exact period/conditions as same time last year?

  • Switchblade88 on 18/08/2022 - 11:53
    +1

    I think it depends on your state, but if the agent dealt with the issue immediately then they have discharged their responsibilities and it's up to fighting the water provider for a concession. You won't get any concession on your gas at all.

    Some councils will offer a deduction for a burst pipe, others won't and it's the bill payer's responsibility unfortunately. If you have good agent relations they might offer to pay part of the bill as goodwill.

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 13:30

      Yeah, the gas retailer was quick to say NO.

  • outlander on 18/08/2022 - 13:10
    +1

    I would say agent. As part of the rental agreement it's their responsibility to maintain the house in working order. You're responsibility is to notify them in reasonable time if anything goes wrong, which it sounds like you have.

    In practice, for the water component it might be easier to claim through the water company. We had a leak underground, and it ended up costing us an extra hundred in water charges. We notified the water company and they gave us a credit on the bill. However, it's more of a one time thing, and requires a plumber to confirm it in writing.

    • sid4frnds on 18/08/2022 - 13:30
      +2

      Plumber has agreed to provide it in writing, so hopefully the water company will entertain it.

  • John Kimble on 18/08/2022 - 13:39

    When I was in a rental and had a leak in the hot water pipe, after a lot of hounding the REA, the landlord agreed to split the excess electricity charges 50-50, which I thought was nice, given they would have had to pay the for the excess water and the repairs (or paid their excess on their insurance).

    I had to provide past bills to show average usage compared to the large bill, so it took a few months to resolve.

    It was only about $390 though.

  • Waltervp on 19/08/2022 - 08:41

    Amd how much were your last gas bills????

  • judani on 19/08/2022 - 11:39

    It probably depends which State you are in. I’m in Victoria and I had a leak from my underground watering garden system. South East Water reduced the bill after submitting a letter from the plumber.

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