Own a Unit in an Older Complex? Here’s What the Water Sub Metering Decision Actually Costs You

Why This Decision Exists

Many older unit complexes have one large “master” water meter for the whole building, plus individual sub meters for each unit. A code introduced in 2008 set new standards for how those sub meters need to be installed and maintained. Complexes built or plumbed before that code may not meet current requirements which means the Body Corporate now has to choose one of two paths forward for the complex to remain compliant and for billing to stay accurate.

Option 1: Upgrade The Sub Meters & You Pay For What You Use

If your complex upgrades its sub metering, nothing changes about how you’re billed conceptually each unit still has its own meter, and you’re charged for your own actual water usage, just like a standalone house. The upgrade itself comes at a cost to the complex (shared across owners via the Body Corporate, based on a quote from a licensed plumber or hydraulic engineer), but once it’s done, the ongoing billing arrangement you’re used to continues.

Why this matters more than it first appears:

• You only ever pay for your own water. A neighbour who runs the tap all day, fills a pool, or has a leak they haven’t noticed doesn’t affect your bill.
• If you rent the property out, you can pass water usage costs on to your tenant, in line with the relevant tenancy legislation for individually metered properties. That’s a genuine, ongoing financial benefit forinvestor owners one that disappears entirely under the alternative option.
• Accurate billing protects you long term. Your usage, your responsibility, your control.

Option 2: Don’t Upgrade. Have The Consumption Bill Averaged

The alternative is that the Body Corporate changes the way owners are billed altogether: instead of usage being measured per unit, the water and sewerage usage for the entire complex is calculated from the mastermeter and divided between all units, generally based on a fixed ownership or lot entitlement percentage rather than actual individual use.

What this means in practice:

• Your bill stops reflecting your own usage. If your neighbours use more water than you running irrigation, filling spas, or simply having more people living in their unit you absorb a share of that cost regardless of your own habits.
• You can’t pass water usage charges on to a tenant. Because the property is no longer individually metered, standard tenancy provisions that allow water usage to be charged back to a tenant generally no longer apply. If you’re an investor, that’s an ongoing cost you’d otherwise have been able to recover, gone for good.
• There’s no upgrade cost up front which is the trade off. It’s cheaper today, in exchange for less control and less fairness in your bill going forward.

The Real Question To Ask

Strip away the technical framing, and the decision comes down to this: do you want to keep paying for exactly what you use and keep the ability to charge that back to a tenant or are you comfortable paying an averaged share of the whole complex’s water use indefinitely?

For owner-occupiers who are naturally lower water users than the complex average, averaged billing can occasionally work in their favour but it’s a gamble, and one that can flip the moment a neighbour’s habits change or a hidden leak elsewhere in the building goes unnoticed for a while. For investors, the tenant cost pass through alone tends to make individual metering the clearer long term choice.

Why Allied Plumbing Suits You

If your Body Corporate is weighing up this decision, a licensed plumber’s quote is a required part of the process for any sub meter upgrade and it’s worth getting a clear, honest number before your complex votes on which way to go. Allied Plumbing provides sub metering assessments and upgrade quotes for unit complexes across the Sunshine Coast, including Maroochydore, Buderim, Mooloolaba, Kawana Waters, Currimundi, Nambour and Noosa, so your owners can make a clear decision with real figures in front of them rather than guesswork.

Considering a sub meter upgrade for your complex, or just want to understand what it would cost before your next Body Corporate meeting? Call Allied Plumbing on 0428 411 487 or request a free quote online we’re happy to talk through both options with your Body Corporate committee.

This article is general information only, it doesn’t  replace the advice given from your body corporate manager or unity water. There may also be specific advice for your unit complex.