Tenants

The property owner is responsible for the charges at the property, regardless of:

• Any billing arrangement we may have with the owner

• Provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 dealing with liability for water and wastewater charges between landlords and tenants.

 
By law we must provide a continuous supply of water, as it is essential for survival. Unlike other utilities such as power or gas, we cannot turn off the service.
 
We supply the service to the property, not to individual tenants. This means that the landlord or property owner must ensure the continuous water supply is paid for.
 
If you are paying the usage (volumetric) part of the water bill, your landlord can give you authority to talk to us about bills and payments. For full details see Authorising tenants.
 
You can also ask your landlord to arrange a second copy of each bill to be sent to you.

• No names of tenants will be on the bill

• The second line of the postal address may say c/- The tenant

• The owner will have an email copy of the bill sent to them.

 
The name of any person who is not a legal owner will not be on the bill. This is because the contract is between Watercare and the owner.
 
We send a maximum of one paper bill from an account – all other copies are by email.
 
If the property you’re renting has a change in legal ownership, we set up a new account in the new owner’s name. The account number for the property may change. This can be confusing if you are a tenant paying the account. The property owner or landlord may not have told you that the property has been sold.
 
For more information, see the customer contract.
 

You can pay automatically by direct debit or recurring credit card. You can set this up on MyAccount or by calling us on 09 442 2222, press 2. Before you set this up, there are a few things to consider:
 

• We take the total amount due, which is for the water and wastewater services you have used, plus the fixed charges. Generally the landlord is responsible for fixed charges
• If you move house and don’t notify us to cancel the payment, we will continue to automatically take money from your bank account each month. It is your responsibility to cancel a direct debit payment.

To cancel an existing automatic payment that’s in your name, please call us on 09 442 2222, press 2.

You can also set up an automatic payment with your bank. You need to put the account number that you want the money to be sent to as a reference. Check your account balance each month to make sure you aren’t under or over-paying. Remember to cancel your automatic payment if you move out.
 
You can also pay in other ways, such as through Pushpay.
 
More ways to pay.

Anyone can report a fault with our network.  Our water network goes from the road to your water meter, and the meter box itself. Anything after your meter box is the property’s private network. If you have a fault with the wastewater network please report a fault.
 
Generally it is the landlord’s/owner’s responsibility to fix leaks and pay for any repairs on the private network. Tenants should notify the landlord as soon as there is a problem. However, it depends on the agreement with the tenant.
 
It is important to fix leaks quickly to minimise property damage and avoid high water bills.
 
TIP: Set up an agreement about repairing leaks, including what to do when the landlord is unavailable.
 
You can apply for this allowance if you are an authorised tenant and you have paid to fix a leak.
 
Apply for a leak allowance

More information

Higher bill than usual
Check for a leak
Leak repairs

Tenants can sign up to MyAccount. Once registered online, you can pay a bill, or set up a direct debit or recurring credit card payment. But you must be an authorised tenant if you want to do these tasks online:
 

• View billing history
• Download a copy of a bill
• Set up e-billing
• Apply for a leak allowance
• View water usage
• Link your bill to Xero
• Change the billing address.