Great question. I just got a somewhat hefty water bill. As a newish owner, is that anything to do with household usage? Don’t think so. Or is there a government change of some sort?  How do I check about the metres, everything seems to be locked up. Thanks very much in advance if you have a tip, Lady P.

@Lady Penelope said:
A common water meter is not unusual in older buildings in NSW.

They’re not unknown in newer buildings either, if the developer decides to save money by putting in one meter for the building rather that one for each unit. We’ve even heard of one block where the owner decided to install only one water meter and one gas meter for the whole building.

If the building has a centralised hot water system, there might be additional charges based on your unit entitlements.

The only way to establish this is to ask your strata manager on what basis bills are calculated. By far the most efficient way is for each unit to have its own meters – because that way energy conscious residents aren’t subsidising the flatmates and airbnb backpackers downstairs who spend hours in the showers.

But they are notoriously expensive to retrofit so there will be resistance to any moves to upgrade.  However, if you can get a majority to agree, the minority will fall into line when they discovered that fewer people are sharing the bills blown out by over-use.