Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 13, 2012 7:39 pm Hey people. I have recently had a house demolished and block cleared to make way for new development. I have since received a bill from the water company stating that water consumption was excessive during the last billing period. I have had my property manager check the site and they suggest the water meter was damaged by heavy machinery. The water company has since fixed the leak, but the usage bill until the day it was fixed will be in excess of $700. I have forwarded the following information to the demolition company as the information I have at hand indicates that they damaged the water meter during demolition, however the water company also requires payment or will start pressing legal action on me. What would you people do in this situation? Details of the dispute that I sent to the demolition company last week. I am waiting a reply from their manager, and contacted them about it again today: - The house has been vacant since August 2011, - The reading is for water consumption between Oct 2, 2011 to Apr 3, 2012 - Demolition was completed on March 29, 2012 - The water consumption as per bill is 368 kL - The standard water flow is 45 L/min. By this calculation, consumption over the six day period between March 29, 2012 and April 3, 2012 is 388.8 kL (45 x 60 x 24 x 6), which is approximately the same as billed by the water company - The demolition contract states that water is disconnected back to the meter on the property side, water meter remains - The water company will charge for water consumption through to today, June 7, so there will be additional payment incurred for consumption between April 3 to June 7. My property manager read the meter as 2122 on Tuesday, so there is at least an extra 69 kL that requires attention - I am prepared to pay a nominal amount for the average water consumption used during the ordinary demolition process as stated on your contract So where do I stand with both the water company and demolition company? The water company said they are going to take legal action because the account is grossly overdue, and I am yet to hear back from the demolition company. Would it be wise if I paid the water company first, and then be reimbursed by the demolition company, or just get the demolition company to pay the water account (if their manager agrees to). I don't want any legal action related to this water account on my future records. What legal recourse do I have if the demolition company does not agree with the statement above? The account being overdue and no-one noticing the leak is because I am based overseas, so it has taken 2 months for all this information to trickle through to me. I may consider paying for any interest incurred because of time delays, but not prepared to foot the entire bill for this. Any help appreciated. TIA Ay. Re: Dispute over water consumption during demolition 2Jun 13, 2012 9:06 pm Get a new property manager ( after taking the funds from their last pay ) ( tho I'm serious ) I'd pay bill and take it out of demo company payment. and get new property manager. Why does property manager take two months to forward data to you ? Demo companies use a lot of water, and just as well cos neighbors don't like black sand all over their washing and outdoor furniture etc. Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 Re: Dispute over water consumption during demolition 3Jun 13, 2012 9:44 pm Being vacant, the property was no longer on my property manager's payroll - she did us a nice favor and drove past to check the meter for me. It took so long because the water company only checks the meter once every 6 months - lucky it was 6 days after demolition and not 5 months or something. Then it took time for the bill from the water company to come out to me overseas. Accordingly, I may entertain the idea of paying for any late fees, but not the majority of the bill itself. The payment for demolition was actually complete a month ago - as at that time, there was no indication of any major water usage. How many kL does a normal demolition require? The bill I have is 2.5-times the monthly average of the suburb, ie a crazy amount. Re: Dispute over water consumption during demolition 4Jun 13, 2012 10:07 pm Sounds like the majority of water was thru the damage then. Only one option left eh? Gotta argue with the demo company, if they broke it they pay. Gonna be hard to prove tho. My advise is not to dwell on it too much. A good accountant will find something else to claim. You mentioned development, perhaps building more than one and other properties, enough to require a manager anyway, 700 clams seems a small amount to bicker over? if building a new development was easy, everyone would be doin it Enjoy being ahead of the game , best of luck to you. Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 yes it does, you've just not understood it. theres a difference. 4 2776 We had this happen to us last year and got charged a variation. Try and give away as much as you can that is usable to charity otherwise if you are in Sydney I have a… 1 3296 We've had the offer of a short term tenant whilst waiting for CDC/DA home approval and demolition for our knock down rebuild. It would achieve a pretty low rent as it's… 0 9884 |