Apt. dwellers could be surprised at billing options

There are hundreds of apartment complexes in San Antonio, and most tenants have to pay for their own water.

So when some people felt their water bills were to high, they called Eyewitness Wants to Know.

Do you know how much water you use washing dishes, taking a shower or doing laundry?

You might if your bill kept going up.

Several KENS 5 viewers called and emailed this week, saying their water bills keeping getting higher, but nobody will tell them why.

As it turns out, a lot has to do with how your apartment complex handles the water service.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulates billing practices for water and wastewater utility services for apartment compexes.

Once the local public utility measures water use for the entire property, two billing methods are used: submetered and allocated.

Owners use submeters at each unit to bill tenants based on their water use. This is the most common billing method.

Under allocated billing, the owner uses a formula to divide utility charges among the number of tenants.

They are both legal, and if it matters to you which method is used, then you should ask about it before you sign a lease.

You can visit the TCEQ website to find out about which rules and regulations property owners have to abide. You can find a consumer assistance comlaing hotlien to report any issues.

To find information on tenant rights, you should contact the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.