From March 2025, there are some new regulatory requirements regarding water efficiency that you need to be made aware of as a property owner and landlord. These requirements are enforced by the Commonwealth Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme.
For a landlord to be able to pass on water usage charges to the tenant, the residential property must be separately metered, meet the water efficiency measures, and the charges must not exceed the amount payable by the landlord (according to the water supplier’s bill or other evidence).
The changes provide additional water efficiency measures, including that all taps and toilets on the property need to be checked at the start of a tenancy so that any leaks are fixed. Taps and toilets must also be checked whenever any other water efficiency measures are installed, repaired or upgraded and any leaks fixed. This requirement applies to existing and new tenancy agreements from 23 March 2020.
From 23 March 2025, all toilets in rented properties must be dual flush with a minimum three-star rating in accordance with the Commonwealth Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme. The WELS scheme uses a rating system to help consumers make informed choices about the water efficiency of products they buy.
As your property is separately metered and the tenants are currently being charged for water usage, in order to continue charging water usage we need to organise plumbers to undertake a site inspection to check if the property is compliant with the new measures.
Please find below contractor fees:
a) Site inspection to ensure the property complies with the prescribed water efficiency standards and issue certificate of compliance, if the property meets the standards and no works are required is $140 + GST.
b) Site inspection to ensure the property complies with the prescribed water efficiency standards and issue a certificate of compliance, should your toilet system require upgrading to reflect the new legislation is $350 + GST per toilet
*Exclusions may apply should the toilet not meet a minimum 3-star rating or require further works.
c) If more than one toilet requires upgrading, a further 10% discount on the total invoice will be applied.
d) If a quote is provided to you and you do not proceed, a fee of $140 + GST will be payable for the assessment
PLEASE NOTE: We will be organising the above on your behalf, please advise if you wish to opt out of the below service. If the above measures are not met, you cannot charge the tenant for water usage.
Ask your property manager
If you have any questions regarding these new changes, we recommend reaching out to your property manager in order to discuss in more detail.