Frequently Asked Questions by Landlords

How can I find out what my tenant’s water bill balance is?

You may contact the water department at 920-232-5325 Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

What happens if my tenant does not pay the water bill?

The utility provides delinquent notices to all landlords. This will inform landlords of accounts with past due balances.

Interest of 1% is applied to the past due balance monthly.

If tenants do not pay water bills, it will roll over onto the owner’s property taxes in November of each year. The owner will be notified by mail in October for the amount that will be eligible to transfer, if it is not paid by November 15. Also there will be a 10% tax roll charge on the balance to transfer if it is not paid by November 1.

What else can I do to minimize the amount I have to pay for my tenant’s bill?

Do credit checks on prospective tenants.

Wisconsin Residential Rental Practices law allows landlords to collect the actual cost for a credit report on a prospective tenant.

Alert tenants on how to check for leaks.

Make sure tenants know that leaks can cause significantly higher water bills. Have them notify you as soon as possible if they think something is not working correctly. Please call us or check our website for information on how to detect leaks.

Keep the water service in your name.

You may have the water service in your name and increase the tenant’s rent to include the cost of the water bills. If you use this option, the Water Utility cannot disconnect service in order to evict a tenant.

Change the lease.

Have the lease state that the tenancy is dependent on the payment of water bills. This way if the tenant does not pay the water bill you may be able to start the eviction process.

Deduct the water bills from the tenant's security deposit.

Wisconsin Residential Rental Practices law allows landlords to withhold unpaid water bills from a tenant’s security deposit.

If my tenant does not pay the water bill, can I turn off the water?

The City of Oshkosh Water Utility does not turn water off for non-payment.

What happens if I do not have a current tenant renting from me?

When in between tenants, the water bill will be put into the owner’s name without a service initiation fee. Feel free to contact Utility Accounting to make sure the tenant moving out scheduled a final reading.

What if my tenant does not apply for service?

An owner of a property can set up the water bill account under a tenant’s name if the tenant has not contacted us. A letter will be sent to the tenant letting them know that the account will be set up under their name, and provide effective date of service. The tenant will have a specified time frame to contact us if this is not what they want. We will need to take a reading in order to start the new account under the tenant’s name.