Why Is There A Need For Sub-Metering?

Property managers and owners are very aware that one of the biggest expenses for a multi-family development is due to water bills. As each year passes, the cost for both water and sewer bills rises dramatically, along with safe drinking water becoming scarcer across the United States. These are mostly due to more government regulations and the rapid growth in the country’s population.

Regular news segments and articles covering water shortages are becoming the norm. Many people throughout the country have experienced these shortages and gone through water usage restrictions. Stricter conservation methods are bound to be enforced in the near future, and that is why sub-metering is slowly becoming a staple in the multi-family property industry.

While not all multi-family developments are currently sub-metered, and there are those that are unable to have this system installed, a significant 90% – 95% of new construction of apartment communities are being sub-metered. Over the following years, the majority of current communities will have a system installed as well. Many experts in the industry also agree that many states will soon either require multi-family properties to install a sub-metering system or offer generous incentive programs for those that do.

How does a Sub-metering system work?

When management of a multi-family property decides to install sub-meters for their water supply, they connect with a utility management company that specializes in sub-metering. The sub-metering company then installs the needed equipment, such as water meters, reading equipment, transmitters and others. If the equipment can’t be installed outside the building, the sub-metering company would need to have access to each individual unit for installation purposes.

Once the equipment is installed and tested, the sub-metering company then takes on full responsibility for reading the utility meters, the distribution of the bills, and the collection of the bill payments from the tenants. They also handle all the inquiries and concerns of the customer and their tenants.