Here is proof that when a resident is responsible for their own water bill then usage goes down.
Below is a chart that shows what I paid for Water, Sewer and Trash (it all comes on one bill) at a 4plex in Minneapolis from 2017 - 2023.
Keep in mind that typically the city increases the cost of these services annually.
Around September of 2021 I had water sub-meters installed so that each resident could be responsible for their own usage. This was after a ridiculous increase in the annual cost in the year 2020.
The result? Costs have come down every year since.
This shows that when you are paying the bill then you pay attention to how long you leave the faucet on.
Plus if there is a leak - I can now easily narrow the issue down to the apartment that is causing the problem rather than having to investigate every apartment.
What other cost saving and measures are you implementing at your rental properties?