Water Efficiency Certificates
Do you own a rental property? Do you have your water efficiency certification?
In NSW, current legislation states a landlord can only ask a tenant to pay water usage charges if the minimum criteria have been met.
Minimum criteria as follows:
The minimum criteria for passing on water usage charges are:
- the rental premises must be individually metered (or water is delivered by vehicle), and
- the charges must not exceed the amount billed for water usage by the water supplier, and
- the rental premises must meet required ‘water efficiency’ standards.
What are the water efficiency standards?
A rental property is only considered water efficient if it meets these standards:
| Water efficiency devices | Minimum standard required |
|---|---|
| Internal cold water taps and single mixer taps for kitchen sinks and bathroom hand basins | A maximum flow rate of nine litres per minute |
| Showerheads | A maximum flow rate of nine litres per minute |
| No leaking taps | No leaking taps anywhere on the premises at the start of the tenancy or when the other water efficiency measures are installed |
This flow rate does not apply to other taps in the premises including bathtub taps, laundry taps, outside taps for the garden, or taps for washing machines and dishwashers.
Watertight Group can assess your rental property to see if is water efficient and issue a certificate of compliance to ensure you, the landlord, can pass on water charges to your tenant.
