 Okay. Hello and thank you for joining me in today's webinar. I am here with the RTA's water guru, Ben. Now, Ben does have a world of legislation knowledge. He's been working at the RTA for over three years. He's been managing properties as an agent for over 15 and has also been a tenant and a less all himself. Thank you for sharing the mic with me today, Ben. Hello, everybody. Welcome to today's webinar, Understanding Water Charges. I look forward to purifying these muddy waters, with you today. We promise no more cheesy jokes from here on in. Now, when the RTA, RTA Act 2008 was introduced, changes provided landlords and agents the ability to charge tenants for water consumption. Now there were rules when you can charge a tenant and I will be going through those today. Now, at the same time as this, the Queensland government amalgamated a number of councils and also undertook a reform of the Southeast Queensland urban water sector. Now this resulted in the establishment of a couple of water retail providers. So urban utilities, this is for Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockheed Valley, Somerset and the Scenic Rim and Unity Water for Morton Bay and Sunshine Coast. Now this meant that water bills were separated from the councils in those areas and it made it easier to determine water charging for owners. Now in other council areas, councils are still responsible for producing water bills along with their rates bills. Now, more and more tenants across the sector are now being charged water, particularly those renting houses or other properties that are individually needed. Water charging is constantly one of those topics that we are hearing shout outs for more information on and on average we receive over 6,500 calls per year about water charging. So you asked and we listened. So what have we got on today? In today's session, we will start by looking at a common water charging scenario. Now this scenario was determined from our listeners last time. We presented our listeners last webinar with three scenarios to choose from. So we then look at all things legislation efficiency and utility bills. Now we're presenting you this scenario up front so that throughout the webinar, you can put the information we're talking about into context with this scenario. Now you will be able to ask questions during the webinar. Just be mindful, we often find that just in natural progression of the webinar, we are answering those questions you provide up front. At the end, we will be putting that scenario under the microscope and applying legislation and practical tips and tricks. Now if at the end of the scenario you then find you still have questions that haven't been answered, certainly shout out and we have allowed for questions and answers session. Now it is really important before we get started to note that the RTA does not provide legal advice. So in today's webinar, we do refer to legislation, but it really is up to you to interpret each situation relevant to the legislation. And again, just to confirm that if your question isn't answered during the webinar or during the Q&A session and you need specific advice, please call the contact center or visit the RTA website. We have a water charging fact sheet. Okay. All right, so common water charging disputes. The most common disputes about water are listed on your screen. Today, we hope to help provide you with legislation information that you can retain easily and assist you with ways to tackle these types of disagreements, meaning you may require our services less, which in turn will save you a bit of time. Absolutely. All right, so let's take a look at the scenario that we're going to dissect today. All right, so we've got the dreaded running toilet. Oh, sure. There's a lot of people out there that would have had that scenario. Actually, what we might do, Ben, is we might jump into a poll, first of all, before we get into it, just to see who our audience is. How's that? I think that's a great idea. We'll launch that poll now, just wanting to know which group in the sector you belong to. Okay, so you should have seen a poll there on your screen. Thank you so much for those there who have participated on that. Okay, Ben, just looking here, I can see that 70, oh, it's just changing again. Close that poll. Okay, thanks again for those participating listeners out there. We've got around 74% of our attendees out there today, being property managers or agents. We've also got a percentage of landlords and tenants. Hello to everybody. Now we will jump into that scenario. I can just note here, we do have a few people mentioning that possibly they cannot see the screen. Now just maybe guys try jumping out and clicking back into your registration link or the webinar link, that should do the trick. All right, let's jump back into it, shall we? Okay, so let's have a look at the scenario. So the property is water efficient. The agreement states the tenant is responsible for water consumption. The agent notices the toilet running during a routine inspection. The tenant works away. The toilet was repaired 42 hours later. The utility company bills half yearly and the last bill was three months ago. The tenancy is ending in five weeks and there were no maintenance requests or a previous history of the toilet running. Okay, so knowing what to consider and how to go about things can be difficult. You know, tenants don't want to be paying for water that they didn't use and determining the water usage caused by the leak and the water consumed by the tenant can be difficult. This is where research and self-resolution strategies are key. All right? Okay, and certainly we're about to jump into everything. Property managers and tenants should know about water charging. Now we know that some of you we've got, as we said, 74% of you out there that are managing parties may already be confident in the legislation and no, but we are confident today that you'll be walking away with a few other ideas and strategies to help you with this in the future. Sounds like a very juicy scenario we've got for them. Well, it is. Let's talk about the legislation and I will stress that the RTA is not here to provide legal advice. This is information and it is up to you to determine how it relates to the issue, right? So it's up to you to put it into context. So with relation to water, the Act talks about service charges, water efficiency and water consumption. These are the sections of the Act on your screen. Now, are the legislation to consider are less source and tenants obligations generally? So this will come up more when we drill into the scenario. Absolutely. Now, what Ben and myself have tried to do today is essentially simplify the legislation for you and list it out in terms of the minimum standards for water charging. So essentially, a lessons are allowed to pass on full water consumption charges to tenants provided that the home meets these minimum standards. Okay, so in terms of full water consumption, now this does include your state government bulk water. Full water consumption can be charged where the property is water-efficient or there are water-efficient devices fitted. The tenant is enjoying the water at the premises. The premises is individually needed for water and this is all stated in the agreement. So the water efficiency, the water agreement is listed in that tenancy, okay? Now that is the minimum standards. Now, where this changes, if there is no water-efficient devices, then excess water only can be charged to a tenant. And we will look it in terms of, we'll talk a little bit later down the track in terms of negotiating an amount on that. But to give you a bit of an example, I know, Ben, you would have seen this in your time as a property manager, something in the terms, if the property, if you're charging excess water for a tenant, maybe listing something in special terms like, the lessor agrees to pay for the first 50 kL and the tenant is to pay for the remainder at 60 cents per kL thereafter. Now bearing in mind that, you know, that percentage per kL or that amount per kL, is, has to be reasonable and certainly cannot be an amount, the lessor cannot be charging more than what the lessor is being charged. Generally, we find, I think you'd agree, Ben, in the industry, it's normally around what the council is charging per kL leader. That's right. And again, just to reiterate, it is important to get this nutted out at the beginning of the tenancy and just making sure those things are in the special terms and conditions. The finer details. Okay, so the tenant and lessor can negotiate other water consumption costs, so such as pool top ups or maintaining the yard. Okay, so for example, a lessor might agree to pay for a certain amount of water. If the tenant maintains the gardens to a certain standard, okay? Again, that's something to discuss at the beginning, make it specific. Where water is delivered by a truck and put in a tank, the lessor or the agent can pass on the water consumption, kind of like the same as supplied water, i.e. they can pass on the delivery costs. Okay, remember that circumstances can change. Okay, for an example, drought. So it is important that these agreements are considered and revisited when necessary. Now, when it comes to rooming accommodation and movable dwellings, these are generally in the lessor's name and the water is included in the rent. Now, this can change if the room or the movable dwelling is individually metered, same rules will apply. All right, so just remember that what we're talking about today is available in the water fact sheet available on the RTA website. It's a really useful handy one there and we will show that up on the screen throughout. Okay, so let's talk water efficiency. Now, in 2005, the Australian government introduced a scheme called the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standard Scheme, or WELLS. So under the scheme, products that use water must be tested and under standardized conditions in a laboratory by government regulators. So each product is then given a rating, okay, a score to indicate the product's efficiency. So that can be between one and six stars. Now, if you need to know more about that or if you're interested more in understanding WELLS, the website there is up on your screen. But generally, in terms of a rental premises, a rental premises would be water efficient under the legislation if it's meeting that three star or higher efficiency water level and the toilets, cold taps and shower heads are fitted with those three stars minimum. Now, in terms of cold water, we do get some questions around this. We're talking about internal cold water taps and this is outlined in the legislation, okay? So installed over hand basins, for example, kitchen sink and laundry trough. And this includes your single mixer taps as well. Now, in terms of other taps, such as bath taps or taps or those supplied to your washing machines, dishwashers or other appliances, they need not be water efficient. Of course, we know that these are just minimum requirements and lessors are, of course, encouraged to use the most efficient devices throughout the premises. Now, we did flush up on the screen before those common water disputes received at the RTA and one of those was to do with disputing or disagreements around the water efficiency within the home. Now, you might find that most properties generally, built after 2004 or 2005, will be fitted with those efficiency fixtures due to the WELLS scheme. Now, this obviously, unless these fittings or fixtures have been changed, don't assume that they are always well efficient. It's always best to do your checks. Now, when determining efficiency or deciding and agreeing on if the premises is water efficient, it is important that the lessor bear in mind that they should be able to demonstrate some or all of the following. So it could be plumbing reports or even a plumber certificate, receipts, maybe some packaging, displaying WELLS rating or even warranties or instruction manuals. Now, the legislation actually talks about and drills down efficiency around flow rates and dual flush and volumes of water. But what we know is the WELLS is generally the best guide to gauge the efficiency at the home. If you did want more information, you could, as we said before, look at our website or review the legislation. Okay, so understanding water charges. When you think water consumption, think variable amounts. Okay, this is outlined in the legislation on your screen. Often, the state government bulk water charges can be confused with sewer or access charges. Now, fixed charges cannot be passed on to the tenant. So review the rates notice so you're not overcharging or undercharging tenants for that water. Absolutely. And tenants, also, there is that obligation for you to understand what you should or shouldn't be paying for and having those conversations up front. Now, you'll see there on your screen, I've outlined we have a unity water, a really helpful, I think, band unity water diagram or fact sheet there that really clearly outlines the water and the charges, variable and fixed. And also you can see there urban utilities, some snippets there from an urban utilities bill. Now, where the waters get muddy is the billable or the consumption charges. Now, they're not always referred to as consumption on a bill and we know that every utility company or council uses different names for different types of charges. So, for example, water consumption is referred to as by urban water as variable water charge. Now, that's fairly straightforward. We're hearing water charge. We're hearing variable, but it can be difficult. So really looking at these bills or referring to their websites can really assist with this. Now, the absolute best way, as I said, is to know what you can charge on a water account and pass on or tenants for what you can be asked to pay for is really referring back to the utility invoices or utility information. Now, also too, as I said, it's maybe even sitting down face to face in that initial beginning of the tenancy and going through the bill or the way that you're going to be charging or receiving your bills upfront. So it's clear and it sets off that good understanding in the beginning of the tenancy. All right, so in terms of when you're thinking about water charging, it really is a ban. It's not a case of one size fits all. It's not. We often hear, certainly, I've been hearing lately that bills are received in arrears or the tenancies don't line up. And it's certainly not the case that you do have to only be billing or charging based off of those utility accounts. Now, we know, as you said, every property is different, every family, every tenancy is different and there's different needs, for example, pools or there might be climbed rainwater tanks or prize winning gardens that need that extra TLC. Now, in terms of tenancies and tenants, even the tenants' ability to pay for water, you know, the amounts or the frequencies of the bills is something that really should be coming into consideration at the beginning of renting a rental, renting a property. Agents, check with your owner. Do they care how the water is paid for or the frequency or do they just care that the water is paid? So could they negotiate with the tenant? Tenants, you can negotiate water charging. So perhaps you might offer to pay the water into a higher rent amount rather than paying water bills, just to make it easier for you in more manageable bite-sized chunks. And this could also make it easier for everybody during and at the end of the tenancy. Now, Ben, we know the Act does state it's one month, isn't it, that the tenant has to pay? Yeah, from receiving of that receipt, yeah. Exactly. So the Act stipulates receiving copies of documentation regarding the lesser incurring the water amount. Now, if you've set up, set out upfront that the lessor is paying for water, water supplied, et cetera, and those costs, it may be that you may determine as a tenant that, you know, a water meter reading or a photograph of the water meter is sufficient enough. So bearing that in mind, because we do know these billing systems and cycles differ throughout the state and they do not align with the tenancies, unfortunately. What are some other ways, Ben, that people could, the listeners out there could navigate water charging? Okay, well, having your bill when you do get a bill, when you get the next bill, it should flow on from the other bill. Now, things to keep in mind are the dates which may be beneficial even for agents as well, if you're providing receipts to the tenant and not the actual bill, that you have the dates and the water meter readings. So the tenant can see when the next bill comes that it does flow on from that last bill. So keeping that information there, keeping it transparent. And as Kim just said before, even possibly a photo of that meter reading, yes, it may be a little bit more effort, but it then stops those disputes down the track. So that can be a really good way if you're providing the invoice, outline how you came to that figure. Absolutely. Okay, look, even you can agree to read the meter and determine a timeframe. So how will this work? Tenant will read the meter and email a picture to the agent. Agent will read the meter at every inspection. It's really up to them to negotiate, isn't it? It is. Absolutely. Communication is key. Absolutely. And remembering, I think most importantly, it's using those entry and exit reports. Definitely. And being guided by them because that is used at the beginning of the tenancy. Yes. Whether it doesn't matter when the cycle of the billing is, that's the confirmation at the beginning what the water meter read was. Excellent. And everybody is there and confirming that. Definitely. Beginning and end, of course. All right, so we've been through the legislation. We've talked about water charging, understanding your bills, those types of things. Let's have a look at the scenario. Walk us through very quickly those facts again, Ben. Okay, so the property meets all minimum water charging criteria. The agent noticed the water running during a routine inspection. The tenant works away and doesn't know when the leak started. The leak was repaired in 42 hours. The utility company bills half yearly and the tenancy ends in five weeks time. So just take a second to review that scenario. Absolutely. So I guess it's been fixed. Good news, right, Tick? All done. We know that often we can be busy. We can fix the immediate problem. But if nothing happens or if we do nothing or we avoid the difficult conversations, the dreaded running toilet or the leak, what's gonna happen? Well, doing nothing is the easier option short term, okay? But in this scenario, we know the leak could have been going for a long time as the tenant has been away. Also too, take into consideration that the billing period with this scenario is every six months. The chunk. Oh yeah, absolutely. The bill could be huge, okay? Plus the lease is ending soon, right? So there is a number of considerations. So, but all of the above needs to be considered if there was a substantial amount of order used due to the leak, all right? Absolutely, that's number one, isn't it? Absolutely. Or if there is a fault, okay? Now it may not have been leaking for a long period. So this is why reviewing at this point and having the conversation now and starting that can be really beneficial, okay? See if the company will do an interim read, okay? Be mindful of any fees or charges. Read the meter and do a manual daily calculation based on the part bills. Again, like I mentioned before, this is why this review may be really important now. If you do a daily amount now and you're halfway through a billing period and you've already used up the same amount of water that you did in the full six months previous billing, you're probably gonna get a big bill. Time to start thinking about what's gonna happen moving forwards. Speak to the plumber. Absolutely. Certainly, and you can see there, we've got your other considerations there listed on the screen. But most importantly, I get what you're saying then. Determine if the leak was an issue and then follow those other considerations there or make those other considerations on your screen. So let's say we've sat down. We've worked out that essentially we've done the meter read and it does look like this toilet's been leaking for a bit of time. So there's your, sorry guys, I've got to move both that screen over. There's those considerations there on your screen just to recap, the cause of the leak, what does the tenancy agreement go back? Make sure you know what the charges are and what was agreed to. Don't assume the obligations. So the lessors and the tenants and the legislation. But once we've determined these, we've made these considerations. What are our next steps then? Okay, so when taking into consideration the next step, okay, first thing is, is to speak with the lessor. Now we have already touched on obligations. Did the tenant know that there was a leak and not reported it? Didn't the tenant know? Did you as the agent picking it up at the inspection determine whether it was something that needed to be repaired at that time? Or was it overlooked? But anyway, speak with the lessor. Step number one, if this is something that was no fault of the tenant, you may need to advise the managing the lessor of the premises that they're going to expect to be billed. Absolutely, giving them the heads up too. Absolutely. Definitely. Now, if it is determined that this may have been something that the tenant didn't report and maybe something on the tenant, same thing. Okay, weigh up the findings. Okay, what have you come up with as a result of where the liability may lay? Have the difficult conversation straight away. Okay, if you can, all right, just try to get it out of the way. Everybody's dealing with that point and then negotiate. And that may be, I know you mentioned there been liability, you know, and that's a tough one, isn't it? It may be that in your findings and considerations, you determined that, and speaking with a plumber, of course, you know, potentially the tenant was away. They're unable to report the toilet. However, should some consideration been given around this, maybe someone checking in on the home or what have you, you know, different types of factors, also the age of the toilet. So there may be some different percentages around liability and you might like to, as Ben said, weigh those up and factor those into your negotiations as well. Yes. Excellent. Okay, now we've kind of knotted that out a little bit. So Ben, I think, you know, bottom line, it comes down to stopping, being proactive, taking those things into consideration that we've discussed and then your next steps, having those conversations and certainly, especially when that lease is ending as well, is how are you going to deal with this? It wants to reach an agreement. We know the lease is ending. How is that larger amount going to be, you know, finalised before the end of the agreement? Look, that's actually a really good point because you've got a couple of options with that. Okay, if it is going to be a big one and we have some issues, perhaps offering a payment plan to the tenant, essentially they still have the 30 days to pay. Okay, but if you're concerned about this and you want to try to get, let's say a win-win situation, the payment plan may be something that would be really beneficial as well. But again, nutting it out, getting an agreement, getting it in writing so both parties know exactly what they are doing and proceed with that. It can avoid any further issues and possibly disputes at the end of the tenancy. Exactly. So I guess that leads us to our next slide. We've really talked about, you know, those, the options negotiating, the conversations, compromise, documentation and following up. So that really is what the RTA advocates around self-resolution and certainly the options are, you know, trying to self-resolve. Now we understand that this, as we said, can get very muddied, you know, they are difficult conversations and can be stressful financially. And we understand that sometimes therefore you may need to use the dispute resolution service. Now, as Ben mentioned, looking at that, you know, in that, in the, in throughout conciliation, there can be conciliation agreements done out with payment plans that form part of the tenancy. There are a number of options and certainly the RTA dispute resolution service is here to assist if you're unable to self-resolve. And of course, the last option there is the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Now, in terms of everything we've covered off in a bit of a nutshell, Ben, if we are thinking about water from an agent, tenant perspective or have you, in the beginning of a tenancy, what do we need to remember quickly? Have the conversations, not everything out, put it in the agreement, any special terms. Think outside the box. Like we said, properties may have really nice gardens pools. Again, once again, special terms, special terms, put it in there. Confirm the repairs procedure and contacts at the beginning of the tenancy, how they report it and the entry condition report. Make sure it's on there. Make sure the water meter reading is clearly stated on there. Absolutely, another important one there. If you do have a tenant in this scenario, for example, if they are working late, they might have the yards being mowed, but who is doing those checks? Have they got someone going around there or talk about those repair situations? And also checking, doing a little water efficiency check to self at the beginning of each tenancy. Yes, absolutely. You can do the water meter test, have everything off in the house, read the meter, have everything off come back an hour later. If that meter is turning over, there may be an indication of a leak in the premises. Excellent. So we know during a tenancy, checking taps and fittings regularly and that goes both ways, doesn't it? It certainly does. Look for signs of leaks. You know, really nice green patches on the lawn or anything like that. Yes, like it's done that way. Absolutely. Report changes. Are you seeing that the toilet is breaking down or that there is maybe a slight issue with it? Like it runs a little bit longer than normal. And follow up on the bills. It's not just the agent's responsibility to issue the bill. If the tenant knows they are to pay for bills and they haven't received one in the billing period, ask. It absolutely helps. No nasty surprises and everybody trying to mitigate each other's loss essentially and keep those costs down. Definitely. Now, of course, don't forget in the event of a leak or a disagreement using the resources we've mentioned today and above all, we've said it 100 times today being proactive. We've said that also too in the end of a tenancy being proactive, taking the water meter read. Don't forget to put it on your exit condition report and have some conversations. So important. And planning how the final bill will be paid. Yes. Excellent. All right. Now, we're going to jump over to some questions. We've got some questions coming through. Thank you so much for your time, guys. Let's have a bit of a look here. We've got some people asking about sort of the frequency or how many bills can you charge a tenant at one time if it's, say, in a three-monthly billing cycle. Do you want to answer that, Ben? Yeah, absolutely. Look, best practice is when you get the bill, pass it on within a reasonable amount of time. The tenants have a month to pay that bill. So it is best that when you get it that you pass that on to the tenant ASAP. Again, a conversation for you property managers out there to have with the owners. Perhaps get the owners to address the bills to yourselves. You calculate it, you pass it on to the tenants. And certainly, you know, if you're finding that there is a delay in the billing, you know, going back to the reason why there are, you do have a bulk amount of bills to pass on to the tenant, you know, looking at that reasoning, as Ben said, but also trialling a different, you know, a different way of doing things. Can you read the media self or can the tenant do that? But certainly if it's a one-off where you sort of haven't accrued those bills from the owner just yet, is having the conversation with the tenant and saying, hey, look, I understand this might be a larger amount than you're expecting and working with them, like we said, around a payment planner or what have you. Now, we also have some sub-metering individual units. We love this one, don't we, Ben? We certainly do. Now, sub-metering is something that you can pass on those costs to the tenant if essentially it meets that criteria. Supplied with water, it's water-efficient and individually metered. Our minimum standards. Minimum standards, there we go. But you need to be able to substantiate that. Again, if the units have sub-meters, you're gonna need to read them. You're going to need to substantiate that. Again, probably a photo and then passing that onto the tenant. It shows then that you've calculated that water amount as per the water meter. Brilliant. Okay, so hopefully that makes sense of it there. Remembering coming back to that core, the minimum standards individually metered those types of things. Now, in terms of, I'm just having a look here as some of our other questions. We've got one here in terms of how far back can I pass on bills? Now, that's, you know, I guess essentially it's coming back, don't you think, Ben, to what we mentioned before around, you know, tenant's obligation, if it is on the agreement, you know, they're aware that they're going to be paying for water. Yes, we want to be giving them the bills and helping them out so that they, you know, they're not getting any big love sums and, you know, any financial surprises. So there's no hard and fast rule if the lease agreement says they should pay for water and the, you know, and, you know, the checks were done and the entry condition report and all those minimum standards check out. There's nothing that's really discussed there, but in terms of considering the amount, you know, I think that's something to consider. What are you thinking? Look, there may be an argument with there. While there's nothing specific in the legislation about that, like I said, best practice here is making sure that you pass on the bills within a reasonable amount of time because generally the owner or the agent pays the bills and then you pass it on to the tenant, there may be an argument, again, not specific in the legislation, that paying the water back might be seen as compensation. So you may need to also take into consideration compensation laws, which say that if the bill or if the loss is suffered, you've got six months to claim that back, okay? So that may also relate to water. However, at the end of the day, if there's a dispute over that dispute resolution and the only person that can really determine that and make a ruling isn't a adjudicator at QCAT. Absolutely, and they take in a number of factors when they're making that order in terms of, you know, did the tenant know what it occurred? Why is there, you know, why was the bill not passed on? All of those factors. So certainly there is a number of considerations there as well, but being proactive and following up those bills or having it as a reminder or something flagged in your system. So bills and things aren't getting lost and asking your tenants especially to be reminding you if for some reason you haven't passed on a bill. Absolutely, again, what we said before, there is responsibilities on both parties. It's not just one party's responsibility over the bill. Absolutely. All right, I think we've probably got time for one or two more questions. Thank you so much for everybody sending these through. Let's have a look. And we've talked about how far back we can pass on bills. Okay, so we've got another one here as well that says, if water charges weren't applicable at the start of the tenancy, can I add it? Okay, so we've got to go back to the agreement. Okay, what does it say in the agreement? Taking into consideration the minimum standards. So even if you did put in the lease agreement that the tenant is to pay for water, but there's no special terms and conditions if the premises is not water efficient, something to consider, can you add it in there? Well, your lease agreement is illegally buying in contract, possibly not. However, if at the start of the tenancy, it wasn't water efficient and you make it water efficient during the tenancy, that can be discussed with the tenant and a mutual agreement over the water can be achieved providing that it is in writing. But look, it is possibly something to take into consideration at the beginning of the tenancy and talking to your owners about making the premises water efficient at the beginning, at the start of the tenancy. Then you're not trying to discuss this halfway through the tenancy where you're having a disagreement with the owner or you're having a disagreement with the tenant. Absolutely. And certainly, if things change down the track and everybody's agreeable, these can be things that can be amended and added into the agreement or a new agreement done up and what have you. As long as there's a mutual agreement, then certainly things can be added in. Now, one last question we did have, we've had some people out there kind of talking about questioning around our, talking about the adding in special terms for yard maintenance and things like that then. Certainly, as we said, owners can offer to pay for water and for particular things. And once again, it's upon agreement, in your special terms, there may be a, the owner's favorite rose garden or what have you and they really want the tenant to maintain that and the tenant is agreeable to that and negotiates well, what water portion of the water consumption do you think would be attributed to the watering and the upkeep of that rose garden, for example. So anything like that certainly can be negotiated on in the beginning of the tenancy and drill down further in those special terms. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Also too, we've had done a couple of questions about the water meter itself. The RTA really can't talk about the water meter. Obviously, we can talk about the basics of reading the meter. But if you feel that there is an issue with the meter, it is best to talk to the provider if you feel that there is a fault with the meter itself. And then if it is determined to be a fault with the meter or something like that, then that's something that managing parties could talk or the owners could talk to the council about about getting that bill reviewed if it is not a fault of either the managing party or the tenant in this instance. Again, liability. And I think certainly too, it's being proactive around if we know there's been an issue, a leak or have you, but we have had consistent bills throughout the tenancy. If you're stopping and nobody's paying water for a particular period of time while you're investigating things further, that's going, when there is an outcome, there potentially could be a large lump sum that needs to be paid. So you might negotiate, okay, well, look, we know that your normal amount of water over the last three years, per quarter has been this amount. How about you continue to pay that until the rest is sorted to avoid any bulk big amounts for you? Certainly, doing those investigations but being proactive and thinking about what's happening while you're doing them and trying to look back at any kind of normal, consistent bills that you can use as a guide in the interim. Okay, so hopefully that does answer some of your questions out there today. We do get back to people that have asked some of those more in depth questions. We will contact to those of you who haven't had your questions answered today. If it is super urgent, as we said earlier, don't forget to jump onto our website. Now, just a reminder, oh, I don't know if some of you may know, you should know by now that the RTA is hitting the road. Thank you. If there's any of those 400 odd people out there that have joined us for North Brisbane, Tuumber and Roma in the past two weeks, we are running information sessions. We're doing over six, we're going to over 16 locations. I'm going to be very busy then between February and June. So check out our website for more details, making sure you subscribe to our newsletter. That's where you're going to get all of that up-to-date information. But for March, we are coming to Brisbane, South, Morton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Gympie. We'll look forward to seeing you there. Now, also something really exciting. If you didn't already know, we have launched a Talking Tendencies podcast. So they are out weekly, so keep an eye on those. Great if you're driving in between your routine inspections, you can have a bit of a listen to those as you're going along. All right. Now, also too, there's our details up on the screen, guys. Our website, our contact centre, it's something there to be mindful. I know we have talked a lot about accessing those services, but please keep those in mind. Now, I will end the webinar shortly. We do have, if you're new to webinars, we do have a survey at the end. It's a couple of questions. It'll take you a few minutes to fill in, maybe less than that, maybe under a minute. So if you could take the time, we really do love receiving your feedback. We go through each and every bit of it, and it does inform our future webinars, as you can see to that. So please, if you could, that would be really great. What I will do is I will end the webinar, and then the survey will pop up on your screen. So please hold off before you end your screens. Ben, I've had a great time. We could talk all day about water. Hopefully we have cleared the water a little bit for everyone out there today. Thank you for joining me. Thank you. And I will now end that webinar. Thank you, everybody. Bye-bye.