Ratio Billing Water/ Sewer Charges

Lucy Telkamp • September 16, 2020

Why is water/ sewer ratio-billed?

What? Ratio-billing means that there is one bill for the entire building which is divided equally between all units regardless of occupancy. This means that Wiechmann Enterprises foots the bill for vacant units where water isn't even being used.


When? Municipal utility bills for water/ sewer/ etc are sent out regularly (monthly or quarterly) in arrears. As soon as we receive the bills, we post the charges to resident accounts to be paid with the upcoming month's rent. So, for example, a bill you receive in July would cover a period of March, April, & May and be due with August's rent.


Why? Ratio billing is so common a practice in property management as to be considered standard. The vast majority of buildings in this country were constructed with one water/ sewer hook-up and one meter total for the whole property. Every water/ sewer hook-up automatically incurs at least three set fees that show up on every bill: "Water Service Charge," "Sewer Treatment Service," and "Storm Water Management Charge."  Depending upon which municipality issues the bills, these three set fees account for anywhere between a quarter to two thirds of the total bill.


To demonstrate, on Oct 14th, we received a bill for $677.31 which covered water/ sewer usage in a 7-unit building in Milwaukee from Jun 4th to Sept 4th. During that time, there was one vacant unit. The charges were posted to resident accounts on Oct 21st and marked as due with Nov rent.


Of the $677.31, $261.77 was for set fees. This means that nearly 40% of the total bill was not based on actual water/ sewer usage.


Over the years, residents have reached out to us expressing concern over the fairness of ratio billing. It has been argued that, for example, one unit has four residents while another has two, or that someone was on vacation for much of the billing period, or that one unit shouldn't be held responsible for another unit's wasteful habits, or even that a unit with less square footage shouldn't have the same bill as a unit with greater square footage.


To address these concerns, let's use the information from the above described bill. Every apartment was charged $96.76. Of the $96.76, $37.40 was for set fees. The remainder of the bill, $59.36, covered water/ sewer usage for 92 days. That breaks down to $00.645 per day, or $00.027 per hour. Every apartment was billed less than 65 cents per day for water/ sewer usage. Our company paid $96.76 of the total $677.31 bill ourselves because there was a vacant unit, even though no water/ sewer usage occurred there.


If every unit had its own water/ sewer hook-up and meter, those set fees totaling $261.77 on our one bill would not have been divided seven ways.


Differences in individual usage amount to very little change on the final bill.

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Giving Notice to Vacate

By Lucy Telkamp • April 1, 2025
Maybe you're purchasing your first home, or you've found the apartment of your dreams. Maybe it's just time to part ways with your roommate. In any case, you know that you'll be moving out of your home with us. In all circumstances, if you are on a term lease agreement with us, you are required to give signed , written Notice to Vacate a minimum of 60 days prior to the last date of your last month of tenancy. If you're on a full-term lease agreement with us, your term expires July 31st (for example), and you plan to move out, you must submit signed, written notice to vacate on/ before June 2nd. If you move out sooner than July 31st, you will still owe full rent until July 31st unless your unit is rerented with a move-in date earlier than July 31st. If you are looking to vacate sooner than 60 days from now, during the No Winter Vacate period, or before your lease expires, please see our post on B reaking Your Lease & Moving Out Early . If you will be vacating but at least one of your current roommates with us will be staying, please see our post about Roommate Changes . If (and only if) you are on a month-to-month extension of your lease agreement, you required to give signed , written Notice to Vacate a minimum of 28 days prior to the last date of your last month of tenancy. Basically, if you are on a month-to-month agreement with us and decide in the middle of March that you will be moving out, you have until April 2nd to submit signed, written notice that you will be vacating on April 30th. If you will be moving out sooner than April 30th, that's just fine- you will still owe full rent until April 30th unless your unit is rerented with a move-in date earlier than April 30th. There is no specific form you need use to submit notice to vacate; you may use any old piece of paper to write We/I, [all adult resident names], will vacate [your unit's address] on/ before [your move-out date]. Signed, [all adult resident signatures] then either take a photo or scan the signed notice and send it as an attachment to us via email ( Lucy@WEUhomes.co m ). In the state of Wisconsin, an oral statement or an emailed statement without an ink signature do not suffice as notice to vacate. Any notice to vacate must be signed by all adult residents; if only one of multiple adult residents signs the notice to vacate, the notice to vacate will not be valid or binding. If you are on a month-to-month extension of your lease agreement with us, the No Winter Vacate clause does apply. You agreed to and signed off on the No Winter Vacate clause in your original lease agreement (sections 1.2 & 1.7) with us; that clause still (and specifically) applies when you are on a month-to-month extension with us. The No Winter Vacate clause is a pretty standard lease clause in the state of Wisconsin; it simply states that you may not vacate between November 1st and February 27th. If you do vacate between November 1st and February 27th, you will be held liable for rent until the end of February. If you submit notice to vacate less than 60 full days in advance (even if it's 59 days in advance), your liability for the unit and for monthly rent will extend beyond your move-out date unless the unit is rerented with a move-in date earlier than the end of your liability. For example: - If your lease term ends April 30th and you submit your notice to vacate on March 10th, the 60 day requirement continues into May and, as tenancies may not end mid-month (see lease section 1.2 & 1.7), you would be liable for rent until May 31st unless your unit is rerented with a move-in date earlier than May 31st. - If you're on a month-to-month extension with us and you submit signed, written notice on March 10th to vacate on April 30th, the 60 day requirement continues into May and, as tenancies may not end mid-month (see lease section 1.2 & 1.7), you would be liable for rent until May 31st unless your unit is rerented with a move-in date earlier than May 31st. An improper notice to vacate, one given less than a full 60 days in advance, can be particularly problematic starting September 3rd. If your lease agreement expires September 30th or October 31st OR if you are on a month-to-month extension AND you submit your signed, written notice to vacate within 60 days after September 3rd, the 60-day requirement falls after November 1st, during the No Winter Vacate period. You would remain liable for monthly rent for your unit until the end of February unless your unit is rerented with a move-in date earlier than the end of February.

Wisconsin Emergency Rent Assistance

By Lucy Telkamp • March 8, 2021
Has COVID-19 made making rent payments an insurmountable obstacle?

Brrrrr, it’s COLD Outside!

By Lucy • September 13, 2020
The weather is finally turning cooler and we here at Wiechmann Enterprises would like to take the opportunity to remind you how to stay WARM. If you notice that you feel cold in your apartment, please take a moment to check the following: 1.) Are your storm windows firmly closed? (storm windows are in metal frames and separate the wooden-framed windows from the outside) 2.) Have you removed all window air conditioning units from open windows? 3.) Are you dressed appropriately for the season? (tank tops/ beaters and shorts will not be generally comfortable under 70 degrees) 4.) What is the temperature in your apartment? (take the reading at least four feet above the floor in the center of the room) Please let us know if you feel your apartment isn’t keeping its temperature!
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