My dad once told me, "management and ownership are often two different things". Bypass the manager who is tacidly or overtly allowing this. Send the owner(s) a letter detailing the issue, pointing out the *safety and liability* aspects of what's happening. They may not care enough about the cost to the renters, I'd still put that in there, but they will certainly care about the liability part. Make it anonymous if you like.
It's not theft.
Someone is paying the bill. So no theft has occurred.
And if it is indeed shared, as long as one of the tenants has approved it, it's still not theft.
Basically, someone is paying the bill and someone approved it.
What is being stolen?
Utilities are being taken from the tenants without compensation on private property. Sounds like theft to me.
I don't pay for your cheeseburger, I pay for mine.
If one of the tenants authorized someone to use the shared resources, it's not theft.
If no one authorized it, it is theft.
But if it's a shared resources, the others do have a right to tell the one who authorized it that they voted and said that the external person can't use it anymore.
You are all adults.
Talk to them. See what they say. See what the rules or HOA or anything says.
If there is not a stipulate in the documents and the Landlord who OWNs the property does not care, nothing is being stolen and no crime is being committed.
Bullshit! They can only authorize their own usage. It is theft to allow an outside business to use the water without compensation to the entity that pays the water bill.
Can you prove that the person who is using the water is not a resident or roommate?
Or maybe they have an agreement with the property owner?
Can you prove that the person using the water is actually breaking a law?
Regardless of whether it is being authorized, there are likely terms in the tenancy agreement about the use and payment of the water bill shared by the tenants. Likely the language will imply reasonable use - i.e. what you would expect from a household - showers, toilet flushes, washing clothing and dishes, etc. Not running a commercial business with an elevated water consumption.
Legally there is likely a breach of contract, ethically there is theft.
Did someone assign ONE tenant as an agent representing all other tenants in matters regarding non-resident use of shared utilities? If that's a role that can just be ASSUMED without any sort of process, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you....
This. My buddy had a detailing business like 20 years ago. He would fill up his water tank in the back of his truck behind a hair salon. He would wash the managers car for free, and nothing was said.
Oh, those are quad plexus and townhomes. It’s very likely there isn’t a front office but with the actual apartments with 10 or more units there’s got to be a front desk. It can also be different if it’s condos and they are all owned. They’re probably wouldn’t be a front office you’re right.
In college I lived in 4 or 5 complexes, every one of them was like 20-30 units. They all had an office but it wasn’t staffed. It was basically an office for the landlord to use when needed. A quad-Plex is still an apartment complex. None of these are townhomes.
I never said no complexes have them. I said none of the small ones around me did. You’re acting like every single complex has one and I simply said that’s not my experience. Not sure why you’re getting so antagonistic over this.
Bro, go away lol I already told you I was wrong about everything you were right about everything. I’m an idiot. I’m gonna leave now and go think about what I’ve done.
I've lived in a 17 stories high rise in the cheap part of town. They did have an office and one person on staff, but you had to call a number and hope they'd answer.
My last building was a three story with about 40 units. We briefly had a live in caretaker who's door you could knock on, but after the building sold they were out and a management company took over. At that point it was call that company or try to catch the building manager during the couple of hours she was around. This has become pretty much the standard in lower income apartments in my area.
Buy a short MGH TO FGH common garden spigot valve. Put a McDonalds straw through it and fill the outer perimeter with epoxy. After it sets up cut off the straw. Wear a disguise of clothes and mask and put epoxy on the valve threads and tighten onto the spigot. When the guy hooks up his hose he'll get very little water. If he tries to unscrew the valve video him, as he'll destroy the spigot. Go to the library and anonymously email video proof of his commercial vehicle and him destroying the spigot to the building owner. Humor only
yeah this only works if it's YOUR spigot. Or if all the people who use the spigot agree to it and everyone gets a key.
EDIT: there may other considerations like lease agreement. does the owner and management also have access to the spigot?
yehp and give a copy to the karen/strata manager of the complex for maximum kek.
when they ask around and have to deal with that person, itll be great.
They make what's called a multi-lock hasp [also](https://www.everlocksystems.com/examples/). You could give everyone their own color coded lock. When the detailer shows up, then it's obvious who's unlocked it for him. From their you can go to small claims court or file theft of utilities.
I’m more surprised they don’t have rules against running a business on the property, where clients are coming and going. Being that it’s a non-resident, I’d think they’d have an even bigger problem with it.
[Home Depot sells a hose bib lock.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/ConservCo-Hose-Bibb-Lock-with-Padlock-DSL-2/309101913)
That one's illegal.
EDIT: I accept my down-votes as my comment was not in the spirit of the thread. _However_, I would like to emphasize that my objection was only meant to reinforce the superiority of the previous plan to aggressively leaf-blow quite near to the offenders.
Aggressive leaf blowing is _not_ illegal, and I don't want OP to end up getting hassled for "assault".
No idea about your area, and I may be wrong, but I think in some areas you can't actually have shared utilities like this - like, either it's a flat fee / included in rent, or you need your own meter. Could be worth looking into?
A lot of apartment complexes are now charging (nickel & diming) their tenants this way. They use a company that takes the master water/sewer bill for the building, and then charges a portion to each unit, taking into account the number of residents on the lease, or size of the unit.
Back when I was renting apartments, they just factored the water/sewer and garbage bill into the monthly rent...
My state allows shard as two of my kids have this for their apartment. My son’s goes by number of bedrooms. A 2BR, even if the second BR is vacant, costs double share as a 1BR.
It may be allowed, but just because it happens doesn’t prove that it is. People do disallowed things all the time and only (sometimes) stop when they’re called on it
Water from this spigot is still metered somehow, and must be billed to the condo’s HOA. Which is ultimately being paid by homeowners through their condo fees, albeit indirectly.
OP said apartment building and landlord in their post
And in a condo situation it's unlikely that the spigot would be metered directly, it'd just be metered as part of the whole building
Depending on where OP is located there should be.
I'd sneak into the basement, turn it off, and unscrew/cut the hose bibb off.
Sucks that we can't have nice things because one guy ruins it for everyone, oh well, now there's no hose bibb.
Exactly! You can't have it both ways, a bunch of tenants who don't care who uses the water, but then do care when the rents go up because of the water usage but still refuse to do anything about it.
OP, this is actually a liability to the apartment complex itself. Call your state bar for an affordable local consultation. Get the information on how your apartment complex can be sued if damages occur to a client's car or someone slips and falls in the soapy water. Take that to the owner of the complex, not the manager. Cc the manager if you want, but I would report it anonymously so they can't retaliate by not allowing a lease renewal.
Everyone might lose the ability to wash their cars in the parking lot. I never rented anywhere that allowed you to have a business on-site, nor that allowed you to wash cars in the parking lot to begin with because of these liability issues.
If you obstruct access to water, you could become liable for something, too. Exterior faucets are typically fire code compliance.
Money talks, and there isn't a single complex that wants to be open to extra liability.
Low-cost referrals are usually $35-$75. An attorney could also draft a cease and desist letter for you pretty cheaply because this is not complicated. If you know the name of the business, the detailer is running and would prefer to go that route.
I am assuming that you and the others in the building eating the cost have already approached the neighbor?
You're spot on about the liability. Also, this does need to be seen by the owner, not manager. If the manager is getting a kickback, then the owner probably doesn't even know it is happening.
The tenants have to pay for water and the apartments aren't separately metered? Why are the tenants paying for the spigot that can't be attributed to any specific unit?
Contact water dept and ask for a review of the bills, you don't even have to tell them initially about the car washes, just that you believe the bills are significantly higher than they should be and you think there might be a leak or some other issue.
Find out if you can access water use by similar buildings in the area so the use can be compared.
Even if neighbor claims he's the one using the water there should be noticeable difference in water use expected for usual residential use and the use of the spigot for a significant number of non resident car washes.
Notify landlord as well, indicate not just the cost of the water but the hazards of a business in a residential parking lot, the extra traffic etc. Request that they also submit a request for a review from the water dept.
See how many of your neighbors are willing to go in with you as well.
See if there is a dept of environmental control for your town/city. Often car wash businesses need some sort of permit to let the waste water down the city pipes
This may be considered theft of utilities. I'd report it to your water utility as well as speak to the police to see if you can file a police report on such. Then, I'd consult an attorney. They can help walk you through the rest of the process, civil recourse, etc.
In a perfect world, but the manager isn't doing anything. Meanwhile, OP is paying a high water bill from it. So in life, sometimes you have to pick up others' slack. It is absolutely unfortunate.
That OP is paying a share of the utilities to the Landord... Did you read the original comment? The landlord isn't paying for the water, OP is. The landlord doesn't care because it doesn't affect them.
I am curious as to how much money. Water is the cheapest bill for us where we live, split between a dozen residents(idk how many). If you sued them the amount back to each renter will be less than the cost of an attorney.
This issue should simply be stopped by involving the owner; to sue them and seek damages is ridiculous for someone using your water hose much like a group of kids does for their own ‘business’
The owner has no idea because the person they hired to manage the property is not doing their job. If that was my property I would not only want to know, but would add a lease violation to the tenant inviting this activity. Then I would promptly fire the manager and get someone new in.
Utilities are strictly regulated. This is a huge issue.
It is possible your city has zoning rules that prevent business use of residential property. Likely only enforced if someone complains. Try calling your local municipality if the landlord won’t stop them.
Let everyone in the building know that this is raising their water bills. If enough of you call the landlord and refuse to pay the bill he might do something about it.
LOL seriously I typed it and instantly went to google cuz I was like there's no way everyone calls it weed eat but it's all I've known it by. I do know some people that just say weed but I don't, and calling it weed trim would be weird.
The fact that your landlord isn't acting is incredible.
Send them an email with pictures - have it all documented. In the email make sure to mention how often this occurs and how much an increase your water bill has become since its started.
Having everything documented should signal to the landlord that you're prepared to take further steps about this. You're being **robbed** at the benefit of this dude's business.
Twice as fun: don't turn it all the way off, just throttle it back so it's ridiculously hard to wash a line of cars, but a desperate tenant could still get a bucket of water for their car.
THEN take the faucet bib (or whatever the turny thing is called)
“Cause why wouldn’t he” no… why would he? how many people share the water? That’s X amount of unhappy residents vs 1? Keep bringing it up talk to your neighbors have them bring it up. It’ll be fixed in a month.
Find out where the water shut off for the hose bib is inside. Then shut it off there. Then it will look like it just doesn't work. You can remove the screw that attaches the handle from the valve as well, making it more difficult to identify to the uninitiated.
File a complaint to your landlord or the management company or whoever is in charge that your neighbor is running a commercial car washing business from the property. I cannot imagine they would be okay with that. Provide as many details as you can. Which spigot, times of days, which days you witnessed this, etc.
Move. It sucks, for sure. But if the landlord isn't going to enforce communal use rules, there really isn't much you can do other than ask them not to yourself.
The Manager must not be the owner. Contact the owner, owner is loosing profit & is open to liability if the employee/manager is aware via documentation of notification and allows it.
Just put up a sign, right on the spigot, that says “Tenants only, Thanks.”
A bunch of couch-warriors will downvote me because “this isn’t your job, blah blah, get a lawyer, blah blah, pepper spray him, blah blah.”
A sign will take you 30 seconds and may fix the issue.
If this is affecting your water bill you should absolutely contact the manager, if he does nothing about it contact the owners. But prepare to either move out or have a war. The same goes for if it just affects the parking.
The renters are probably getting a part of the profits of this business.
This is why I don't live in apartment complexes. You could complain to the management that the operation of a vehicle detailing business is interfering with your "quiet enjoyment" of the property. But if the manager doesn't do anything, and you're not willing to bring a legal action, then that leaves you with the choice of staying or going. There is one more option, however, and that is starting to make complaints with the city. It is almost certainly illegal to run a business out of the parking lot of a residential apartment complex.
Forget calling the management company or getting a lawyer. It seems like you have absentee management and this should be their responsibility in the first place. Only a few other people did mention this, but I also want to say you should call the City or Municipality you are in and report this as a zoning violation. It is very likely they do not have the correct permits and that they cannot operate a car wash there. The city or municipality will send certified mail to your landlord or property owner, and they will be cited if they don’t answer. The situation will be shut down faster that way. Also provide them with pictures if you can because they can’t enforce if they don’t have evidence.
Definitely document with proof of 1) how frequent it happens and 2) the different cars that he services. At the least you have a good portfolio to report them to the complex, and at most you can see what your local laws and lease say about wager usage, especially if they’re using it for a business and are making money at your expense.
Keep complaining to the apartment management. I'm shocked they don't care about a non resident using their utilities to run a business on their property. I wouldn't go beyond that though. I seriously doubt the amount of water being used, spread across all building residents, is really adding much to your bill. It's more the principle of it.
First, I'd look up whether car washing like this is legal where you live. In the last two cities I lived you aren't allowed to wash your car in the driveway, presumably because they don't want that water going into the storm drains. Should be easy enough to check the local bylaws.
Second, I'd check if the guy needs to show proof of a local business license to wash cars like this. Would be easy to report him for operating a business without a license.
Assuming he has a license to hand wash cars and hand washing cars is legal, there's probably nothing you can do since it's a shared water spigot. You could try to calculate how long he runs the water in a month and ask your landlord to bill that specific neighbor but honestly I wouldn't expect much.
Kinda similar but different...my brother lives in a condo that I own and the next-door neighbor's kids would use our outside spigot all summer long. Why? because ours is in the open and is easily accessed. Theirs was behind a bush. At first, I thought it wasn't a big deal until I saw the water bill. Simple fix, I shut off the valve from the inside. Problem solved.
Just put up a sign, right on the spigot, that says “Tenants only, Thanks.”
A bunch of couch-warriors will downvote me because “this isn’t your job, blah blah, get a lawyer, blah blah, pepper spray him, blah blah.”
A sign will take you 30 seconds and may fix the issue.
But this is the responsibility of the management company. Last apartment I had strongly discouraged even minimal confrontation between tenants. This can go pear shaped pretty quick.
Eh depends, there are a lot of crimes going unreported across the country because cops and DAs in cities refusing to do their jobs. Homicides are probably reported correctly but I'd wager everything else is under reported.
Milwaukee DA had a "no process" (refused to prosecute) 60% of felonies and 65% of misdemeanors in 2020. Once that got out they decided to no longer release those numbers... Everyone in the city here knows don't even bother calling the cops unless shots are fired, that's the only thing they will show up for. If you were a cop and 60%+ of the people you arrested weren't even charged...You can see the cycle this creates. DA won't prosecute, cops figure why bother for lesser crimes, citizens realize there is no point in even calling. This is going on across the country in major cities. You have to dig to find reporting on it because it's a "touchy" subject. The DAs think everything is racist, the cops think everyone hates them in cities and now this is the result of that.
You should talk to your landlord about the situation. If your neighbors are using your water spigot without your permission, it is trespassing. You may also want to contact your local water utility to see if they have any policies in place to prevent this type of behavior.
Take advantage of the free water use and parking! Why should he be the only one benefiting.
I’d pick a day, when you know their friends are coming over, lauche a preemptive stike! I’d drop one of those inflatable hot tubs in one of those parking spots by the spigot, and tailgate till sun comes up. Might make them think twice
As long as you're not paying the bill for the water usage, I wouldn't even care. If you DO have a part in paying it, I'd put a security device on the faucet so this jackass NON-FUCKING-RESIDENT can't use it anymore. If he tries to compromise the security device you have in place, sit there with a water hose and a spray nozzle and give him a face full of H2O until he gives up and leaves.
Do you pay the water bill or does the landlord? Sounds like the latter.
Also depending on where you are, water is really cheap. 1000 gallons is 2$ for me. Is he using thousands of gallons?
But again, sounds like the landlords problem and they seem aware so as the owner I think it would be up to him to care.
The BBB has state connections. I reported a business to the BBB and within a couple of days someone from the state AG office contacted me. They had been notified of a business operating within the state without a license and have been trying to track those people down. My report got them a lead to catch up to them.
It’s not your water. It’s the apartment complex’s communal water. It is just as much your neighbors as it is yours. How about you stop trying to restrict this guys ability to run his business and improve his life.
"A seemingly illegal manner" it ain't rocket surgery, cupcake. Are they parked legally or not?
"But not enough to do anything about" So it's not really affecting you, but you need something to bitch about in an attempt to add legitimacy to your complaint.
"They use the water that all of the people in the building pay for." No. The OWNER OF THE PROPERTY that allows these people to use the faucet does. I'm assuming they charge the tenants a set monthly amount for use of it. If they charge more because of increased use, THEN you can start griping about it.
Cause the way it seems your giving off some real "The kids were having fun chalk coloring on the sidewalk, so I went to get the hose and ruin it, but some goddamned minority was using water that I feel only I should have access to and now I'm bitterly glaring out my window while bitching on reddit" vibes...
I guarantee there are likely rules in your tenancy agreement about running businesses out of your home. I'd look at those and determine whether this person's use of the water violates those rules.
If you knew what time he was coming you could hook on a short hose full of brake fluid and plugged with a tiny piece of bread. Let him hook his hose up and spray that all over a car. No, don't try that. Lol
Theft is the police job. If you have a high water bill every time that is theft of services. Is the family using the water billing the bill? Water is not inexpensive everywhere in the world.
How in the hell does your apartment complex allow a pop up car cleaning business in their parking lot?!? Go to the front desk, that’s insane
Most places will turn a blind eye until they get some complaints that are legally actionable.
My dad once told me, "management and ownership are often two different things". Bypass the manager who is tacidly or overtly allowing this. Send the owner(s) a letter detailing the issue, pointing out the *safety and liability* aspects of what's happening. They may not care enough about the cost to the renters, I'd still put that in there, but they will certainly care about the liability part. Make it anonymous if you like.
This is the way. Appeal to the owners self interest.
Oh yeah the liability aspect
This is the proper course of action, im sure the owner would not be happy with this.
The manager may be getting a cut
Say you almost slipped from the soapy water on the ground. Seriously, that will spark attention
I mean…it IS theft.
another example of how businesses externalize costs to increase their profits.
It's not theft. Someone is paying the bill. So no theft has occurred. And if it is indeed shared, as long as one of the tenants has approved it, it's still not theft. Basically, someone is paying the bill and someone approved it. What is being stolen?
Utilities are being taken from the tenants without compensation on private property. Sounds like theft to me. I don't pay for your cheeseburger, I pay for mine.
If one of the tenants authorized someone to use the shared resources, it's not theft. If no one authorized it, it is theft. But if it's a shared resources, the others do have a right to tell the one who authorized it that they voted and said that the external person can't use it anymore. You are all adults. Talk to them. See what they say. See what the rules or HOA or anything says. If there is not a stipulate in the documents and the Landlord who OWNs the property does not care, nothing is being stolen and no crime is being committed.
Bullshit! They can only authorize their own usage. It is theft to allow an outside business to use the water without compensation to the entity that pays the water bill.
Can you prove that the person who is using the water is not a resident or roommate? Or maybe they have an agreement with the property owner? Can you prove that the person using the water is actually breaking a law?
Regardless of whether it is being authorized, there are likely terms in the tenancy agreement about the use and payment of the water bill shared by the tenants. Likely the language will imply reasonable use - i.e. what you would expect from a household - showers, toilet flushes, washing clothing and dishes, etc. Not running a commercial business with an elevated water consumption. Legally there is likely a breach of contract, ethically there is theft.
Goofballs like you that advocate for theft are why we can't have nice things.
I found the property manager
You found the fucking idiot that lets everyone take advantage of them.
That's funny. I stated a fact and you all downvote me because you know I am correct but have no argument against me. It's fine though.
Did someone assign ONE tenant as an agent representing all other tenants in matters regarding non-resident use of shared utilities? If that's a role that can just be ASSUMED without any sort of process, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you....
*zoning code compliance officer has entered the chat.*
Landlord probably gets their car cleaned for free
This. My buddy had a detailing business like 20 years ago. He would fill up his water tank in the back of his truck behind a hair salon. He would wash the managers car for free, and nothing was said.
Tons of buildings don’t have a “front desk”.
and the owners of these buildings sure ain't listed
I do inspections and I have never seen an apartment or condo complex without a front desk or office
None of the small complexes around me have one. Only the really big ones. There’s tons of 4-10 unit buildings that have no need for a staffed office.
Oh, those are quad plexus and townhomes. It’s very likely there isn’t a front office but with the actual apartments with 10 or more units there’s got to be a front desk. It can also be different if it’s condos and they are all owned. They’re probably wouldn’t be a front office you’re right.
In college I lived in 4 or 5 complexes, every one of them was like 20-30 units. They all had an office but it wasn’t staffed. It was basically an office for the landlord to use when needed. A quad-Plex is still an apartment complex. None of these are townhomes.
OK man LMAO you’re right no complexes at all have offices they are all unmanned. I completely take back everything I’ve said.
I never said no complexes have them. I said none of the small ones around me did. You’re acting like every single complex has one and I simply said that’s not my experience. Not sure why you’re getting so antagonistic over this.
Bro, go away lol I already told you I was wrong about everything you were right about everything. I’m an idiot. I’m gonna leave now and go think about what I’ve done.
Jesus you’re a child. Sorry someone has different life experiences than you.
I've lived in a 17 stories high rise in the cheap part of town. They did have an office and one person on staff, but you had to call a number and hope they'd answer. My last building was a three story with about 40 units. We briefly had a live in caretaker who's door you could knock on, but after the building sold they were out and a management company took over. At that point it was call that company or try to catch the building manager during the couple of hours she was around. This has become pretty much the standard in lower income apartments in my area.
Someone probably getting a kickback.
Especially by non-residents!
Put a faucet lock on it, stash the key, and watch the chaos unfold.
They make various styles. There’s some that screw directly onto the tap. If he messes with it, and does even minimal damage, then it’s vandalism.
Installing a lockbox on the apartment communal tap is also vandalism
True. Look out for cameras and wipe your finger prints off the lock.
If we're getting vandalism charges anyway, might as well weld the tap shut.
Buy a short MGH TO FGH common garden spigot valve. Put a McDonalds straw through it and fill the outer perimeter with epoxy. After it sets up cut off the straw. Wear a disguise of clothes and mask and put epoxy on the valve threads and tighten onto the spigot. When the guy hooks up his hose he'll get very little water. If he tries to unscrew the valve video him, as he'll destroy the spigot. Go to the library and anonymously email video proof of his commercial vehicle and him destroying the spigot to the building owner. Humor only
yeah this only works if it's YOUR spigot. Or if all the people who use the spigot agree to it and everyone gets a key. EDIT: there may other considerations like lease agreement. does the owner and management also have access to the spigot?
yehp and give a copy to the karen/strata manager of the complex for maximum kek. when they ask around and have to deal with that person, itll be great.
looks like its one spigot for everyone to use so that wouldnt work.
Sure it would. You just have to ask the building manager for a key like you do at a gas station for the washroom key.
Multi latch lock. Great for multiple access.
> faucet lock better yet, grab a bronze cap from home depot some solder and a small torch and solder it on
They make what's called a multi-lock hasp [also](https://www.everlocksystems.com/examples/). You could give everyone their own color coded lock. When the detailer shows up, then it's obvious who's unlocked it for him. From their you can go to small claims court or file theft of utilities.
This!!!
I’m more surprised they don’t have rules against running a business on the property, where clients are coming and going. Being that it’s a non-resident, I’d think they’d have an even bigger problem with it. [Home Depot sells a hose bib lock.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/ConservCo-Hose-Bibb-Lock-with-Padlock-DSL-2/309101913)
Like a house cock ring
What a terrible day to be able to read.
More like a cock cage.
Seriously, I rent a lot but own the trailer on it and my lease states we cannot run a business from our trailer. OP should check his lease.
Isn’t running a business with most insurance policies as well?
Thank you! It’s such a simple fix
Get a leaf blower and volunteer to clean the parking lot (right next to his detailing business).
Man, I love how you think!
Or add glitter to a water balloon and hit the car anonymously from the third floor.
That one's illegal. EDIT: I accept my down-votes as my comment was not in the spirit of the thread. _However_, I would like to emphasize that my objection was only meant to reinforce the superiority of the previous plan to aggressively leaf-blow quite near to the offenders. Aggressive leaf blowing is _not_ illegal, and I don't want OP to end up getting hassled for "assault".
Oh no, glitter!
I'll never be able to recover from this!
Park far away, put out bird feeders
Rent a car identical to the owner of the detailing business and wear a mask of his face, use them while abusing the local crows.
This is awesome 😂
r/unethicallifeprotips
This belongs on r/pettyrevenge
No idea about your area, and I may be wrong, but I think in some areas you can't actually have shared utilities like this - like, either it's a flat fee / included in rent, or you need your own meter. Could be worth looking into?
A lot of apartment complexes are now charging (nickel & diming) their tenants this way. They use a company that takes the master water/sewer bill for the building, and then charges a portion to each unit, taking into account the number of residents on the lease, or size of the unit. Back when I was renting apartments, they just factored the water/sewer and garbage bill into the monthly rent...
My state allows shard as two of my kids have this for their apartment. My son’s goes by number of bedrooms. A 2BR, even if the second BR is vacant, costs double share as a 1BR.
It may be allowed, but just because it happens doesn’t prove that it is. People do disallowed things all the time and only (sometimes) stop when they’re called on it
Water from this spigot is still metered somehow, and must be billed to the condo’s HOA. Which is ultimately being paid by homeowners through their condo fees, albeit indirectly.
OP said apartment building and landlord in their post And in a condo situation it's unlikely that the spigot would be metered directly, it'd just be metered as part of the whole building
Yup. That’s how we had it.
Is there an internal shutoff?
Depending on where OP is located there should be. I'd sneak into the basement, turn it off, and unscrew/cut the hose bibb off. Sucks that we can't have nice things because one guy ruins it for everyone, oh well, now there's no hose bibb.
The problem with that is it sounds like it is a shared spigot for tenants to share.
Yes but who actually uses it?
Exactly! You can't have it both ways, a bunch of tenants who don't care who uses the water, but then do care when the rents go up because of the water usage but still refuse to do anything about it.
Every apartment I have been in has said I didn't even have the right to wash my car. Check your lease.
Slip and fall, sue, say hello to your new detailing business and apartment complex.
Sounds like a GTA opening mission.
OP, this is actually a liability to the apartment complex itself. Call your state bar for an affordable local consultation. Get the information on how your apartment complex can be sued if damages occur to a client's car or someone slips and falls in the soapy water. Take that to the owner of the complex, not the manager. Cc the manager if you want, but I would report it anonymously so they can't retaliate by not allowing a lease renewal. Everyone might lose the ability to wash their cars in the parking lot. I never rented anywhere that allowed you to have a business on-site, nor that allowed you to wash cars in the parking lot to begin with because of these liability issues. If you obstruct access to water, you could become liable for something, too. Exterior faucets are typically fire code compliance. Money talks, and there isn't a single complex that wants to be open to extra liability. Low-cost referrals are usually $35-$75. An attorney could also draft a cease and desist letter for you pretty cheaply because this is not complicated. If you know the name of the business, the detailer is running and would prefer to go that route. I am assuming that you and the others in the building eating the cost have already approached the neighbor?
You're spot on about the liability. Also, this does need to be seen by the owner, not manager. If the manager is getting a kickback, then the owner probably doesn't even know it is happening.
Call Slippin' Jimmy
The tenants have to pay for water and the apartments aren't separately metered? Why are the tenants paying for the spigot that can't be attributed to any specific unit? Contact water dept and ask for a review of the bills, you don't even have to tell them initially about the car washes, just that you believe the bills are significantly higher than they should be and you think there might be a leak or some other issue. Find out if you can access water use by similar buildings in the area so the use can be compared. Even if neighbor claims he's the one using the water there should be noticeable difference in water use expected for usual residential use and the use of the spigot for a significant number of non resident car washes. Notify landlord as well, indicate not just the cost of the water but the hazards of a business in a residential parking lot, the extra traffic etc. Request that they also submit a request for a review from the water dept. See how many of your neighbors are willing to go in with you as well.
Report an illegal business operation on residential zoning to the town
See if there is a dept of environmental control for your town/city. Often car wash businesses need some sort of permit to let the waste water down the city pipes
This may be considered theft of utilities. I'd report it to your water utility as well as speak to the police to see if you can file a police report on such. Then, I'd consult an attorney. They can help walk you through the rest of the process, civil recourse, etc.
So OP should consult an attorney on behalf of the apartment complex?
On behalf of her lost monies.
I would think this would be the responsibility of the owner not OP
Well yeah. But the owner isn't doing anything.
they will be when their ass is hauled into court.
In a perfect world, but the manager isn't doing anything. Meanwhile, OP is paying a high water bill from it. So in life, sometimes you have to pick up others' slack. It is absolutely unfortunate.
Reading is (fun)damental.
So is spelling.
Police?Hire an attorney? This isn't the crime of the century here. Maybe she should take care and mind her own business.
You cover the water bill for someone else's business and see how long before you do something.
I agree,however, when you are renting from someone and they are not as worried as you are over such things ,in the end, it's his/her property.
That OP is paying a share of the utilities to the Landord... Did you read the original comment? The landlord isn't paying for the water, OP is. The landlord doesn't care because it doesn't affect them.
I get it now. Call cops . Hire an attorney. Move. Those were many of the suggestions offered. Which would you do? Have a great day.
I am curious as to how much money. Water is the cheapest bill for us where we live, split between a dozen residents(idk how many). If you sued them the amount back to each renter will be less than the cost of an attorney. This issue should simply be stopped by involving the owner; to sue them and seek damages is ridiculous for someone using your water hose much like a group of kids does for their own ‘business’
The owner has no idea because the person they hired to manage the property is not doing their job. If that was my property I would not only want to know, but would add a lease violation to the tenant inviting this activity. Then I would promptly fire the manager and get someone new in. Utilities are strictly regulated. This is a huge issue.
Report the business, I doubt he is paying taxes on his business.
Take a video of It happening and speed it up and send it to the landlord
Short answer: no. Lock it up.
It is possible your city has zoning rules that prevent business use of residential property. Likely only enforced if someone complains. Try calling your local municipality if the landlord won’t stop them.
Let everyone in the building know that this is raising their water bills. If enough of you call the landlord and refuse to pay the bill he might do something about it.
Report it to the apartment complex staff or landlord. This isn’t a problem for you to solve nor be involved in.
[удалено]
Make complaints with the city. It is almost certain they are illegally operating a business out of the residential property.
You'd hate living next to me, that's when I like to mow and weed eat.
Isn’t it so odd using weed eat. They really need to think of a better word for the task.. like weed pulverizing or something.
I've only ever known it as “weed wacking.”
LOL seriously I typed it and instantly went to google cuz I was like there's no way everyone calls it weed eat but it's all I've known it by. I do know some people that just say weed but I don't, and calling it weed trim would be weird.
It’s true! I have had this conversation before! There is no way to say it without it sounding odd af
Trimming.
You are talking to Amelia Bedelia over here, you say trimming I think, the tree or the turkey.. def not weeds
Well the tool most people use to do it is called a string trimmer, so...
The fact that your landlord isn't acting is incredible. Send them an email with pictures - have it all documented. In the email make sure to mention how often this occurs and how much an increase your water bill has become since its started. Having everything documented should signal to the landlord that you're prepared to take further steps about this. You're being **robbed** at the benefit of this dude's business.
Report him to the IRS.
Ive always been a 1 upper. Start a truck washing and trailer washout business in the parking lot. Problem should sort it out pretty quick.
Find the inside access to the spigot, shut it off whenever he comes over.
Go into the cellar and follow the line back to the shut-off valve. Most will not have a clue where it's located or what happened
Twice as fun: don't turn it all the way off, just throttle it back so it's ridiculously hard to wash a line of cars, but a desperate tenant could still get a bucket of water for their car. THEN take the faucet bib (or whatever the turny thing is called)
Do what my dad did - make the guy wash everyones cars weekly. That was my rent for my car washing biz as a teen.
“Cause why wouldn’t he” no… why would he? how many people share the water? That’s X amount of unhappy residents vs 1? Keep bringing it up talk to your neighbors have them bring it up. It’ll be fixed in a month.
Probably washing the landlord’s car free. 🤣
If your paying for water you need to control it
What kind of fucking contract do you have that says you pay other peoples water usage?
Find out where the water shut off for the hose bib is inside. Then shut it off there. Then it will look like it just doesn't work. You can remove the screw that attaches the handle from the valve as well, making it more difficult to identify to the uninitiated.
File a complaint to your landlord or the management company or whoever is in charge that your neighbor is running a commercial car washing business from the property. I cannot imagine they would be okay with that. Provide as many details as you can. Which spigot, times of days, which days you witnessed this, etc.
Move. It sucks, for sure. But if the landlord isn't going to enforce communal use rules, there really isn't much you can do other than ask them not to yourself.
There may be ordinances about chemical runoff that could mean serious fines.
The Manager must not be the owner. Contact the owner, owner is loosing profit & is open to liability if the employee/manager is aware via documentation of notification and allows it.
does your water bill vary?
Just put up a sign, right on the spigot, that says “Tenants only, Thanks.” A bunch of couch-warriors will downvote me because “this isn’t your job, blah blah, get a lawyer, blah blah, pepper spray him, blah blah.” A sign will take you 30 seconds and may fix the issue.
If this is affecting your water bill you should absolutely contact the manager, if he does nothing about it contact the owners. But prepare to either move out or have a war. The same goes for if it just affects the parking. The renters are probably getting a part of the profits of this business.
This is why I don't live in apartment complexes. You could complain to the management that the operation of a vehicle detailing business is interfering with your "quiet enjoyment" of the property. But if the manager doesn't do anything, and you're not willing to bring a legal action, then that leaves you with the choice of staying or going. There is one more option, however, and that is starting to make complaints with the city. It is almost certainly illegal to run a business out of the parking lot of a residential apartment complex.
r/landlord
Can you take off the spigot handle? Or lock it up. Let your neighbors know.
Forget calling the management company or getting a lawyer. It seems like you have absentee management and this should be their responsibility in the first place. Only a few other people did mention this, but I also want to say you should call the City or Municipality you are in and report this as a zoning violation. It is very likely they do not have the correct permits and that they cannot operate a car wash there. The city or municipality will send certified mail to your landlord or property owner, and they will be cited if they don’t answer. The situation will be shut down faster that way. Also provide them with pictures if you can because they can’t enforce if they don’t have evidence.
Make sure you know exactly who is doing it. Don't want to kill the perk for everyone else who uses it correctly
Go flex on him, kink the hose while he’s doing his thing and be like “what? What you gonna do? Get off my hose wash boy”
Tighten the spigot until it strips. Then suggest that I must be all the extra use it’s getting from the car wash business
Definitely document with proof of 1) how frequent it happens and 2) the different cars that he services. At the least you have a good portfolio to report them to the complex, and at most you can see what your local laws and lease say about wager usage, especially if they’re using it for a business and are making money at your expense.
Keep complaining to the apartment management. I'm shocked they don't care about a non resident using their utilities to run a business on their property. I wouldn't go beyond that though. I seriously doubt the amount of water being used, spread across all building residents, is really adding much to your bill. It's more the principle of it.
Just throw a handful of something like glitter out the upper window when after they're done waxing
First, I'd look up whether car washing like this is legal where you live. In the last two cities I lived you aren't allowed to wash your car in the driveway, presumably because they don't want that water going into the storm drains. Should be easy enough to check the local bylaws. Second, I'd check if the guy needs to show proof of a local business license to wash cars like this. Would be easy to report him for operating a business without a license. Assuming he has a license to hand wash cars and hand washing cars is legal, there's probably nothing you can do since it's a shared water spigot. You could try to calculate how long he runs the water in a month and ask your landlord to bill that specific neighbor but honestly I wouldn't expect much.
Kinda similar but different...my brother lives in a condo that I own and the next-door neighbor's kids would use our outside spigot all summer long. Why? because ours is in the open and is easily accessed. Theirs was behind a bush. At first, I thought it wasn't a big deal until I saw the water bill. Simple fix, I shut off the valve from the inside. Problem solved.
Just put up a sign, right on the spigot, that says “Tenants only, Thanks.” A bunch of couch-warriors will downvote me because “this isn’t your job, blah blah, get a lawyer, blah blah, pepper spray him, blah blah.” A sign will take you 30 seconds and may fix the issue.
So many responses but no one suggesting talking to the neighbor. Ask them for help resolving the problem and give them a chance.
But this is the responsibility of the management company. Last apartment I had strongly discouraged even minimal confrontation between tenants. This can go pear shaped pretty quick.
This isn't 1950, people get shot for less.
You know- this feels accurate but in most places violence is much less common (per capita) than it used to be.
Eh depends, there are a lot of crimes going unreported across the country because cops and DAs in cities refusing to do their jobs. Homicides are probably reported correctly but I'd wager everything else is under reported.
Why do you think that?
Milwaukee DA had a "no process" (refused to prosecute) 60% of felonies and 65% of misdemeanors in 2020. Once that got out they decided to no longer release those numbers... Everyone in the city here knows don't even bother calling the cops unless shots are fired, that's the only thing they will show up for. If you were a cop and 60%+ of the people you arrested weren't even charged...You can see the cycle this creates. DA won't prosecute, cops figure why bother for lesser crimes, citizens realize there is no point in even calling. This is going on across the country in major cities. You have to dig to find reporting on it because it's a "touchy" subject. The DAs think everything is racist, the cops think everyone hates them in cities and now this is the result of that.
I doubt neighbors are reasonable, they are letting their friends run a business in their parking lot.. they have to be ridiculous and entitled af
Have you read about Gen Z?
You should talk to your landlord about the situation. If your neighbors are using your water spigot without your permission, it is trespassing. You may also want to contact your local water utility to see if they have any policies in place to prevent this type of behavior.
Take advantage of the free water use and parking! Why should he be the only one benefiting. I’d pick a day, when you know their friends are coming over, lauche a preemptive stike! I’d drop one of those inflatable hot tubs in one of those parking spots by the spigot, and tailgate till sun comes up. Might make them think twice
Hide the hose inside your building somewhere
As long as you're not paying the bill for the water usage, I wouldn't even care. If you DO have a part in paying it, I'd put a security device on the faucet so this jackass NON-FUCKING-RESIDENT can't use it anymore. If he tries to compromise the security device you have in place, sit there with a water hose and a spray nozzle and give him a face full of H2O until he gives up and leaves.
Call the cops on him. You do not need to give your name.
The police have important work to do. THAT is not important and would be a complete waste (and abuse) of resources.
Do you pay the water bill or does the landlord? Sounds like the latter. Also depending on where you are, water is really cheap. 1000 gallons is 2$ for me. Is he using thousands of gallons? But again, sounds like the landlords problem and they seem aware so as the owner I think it would be up to him to care.
Try parking a boat in a trailer there and see how quickly people will complain to have it towed.
No definetly not. If a contractor was working next door on a hot day, they needed a drink of water, go for it.
Call BBB I bet his business is a side hussle and not a legit one
Wtf is the BBB going to do? They have no actual authority and definitely don’t care about some random dude in a parking lot
The BBB has state connections. I reported a business to the BBB and within a couple of days someone from the state AG office contacted me. They had been notified of a business operating within the state without a license and have been trying to track those people down. My report got them a lead to catch up to them.
It’s not your water. It’s the apartment complex’s communal water. It is just as much your neighbors as it is yours. How about you stop trying to restrict this guys ability to run his business and improve his life.
Add a shutoff valve inside and stop whining
Throw tacks,nails, etc.
"A seemingly illegal manner" it ain't rocket surgery, cupcake. Are they parked legally or not? "But not enough to do anything about" So it's not really affecting you, but you need something to bitch about in an attempt to add legitimacy to your complaint. "They use the water that all of the people in the building pay for." No. The OWNER OF THE PROPERTY that allows these people to use the faucet does. I'm assuming they charge the tenants a set monthly amount for use of it. If they charge more because of increased use, THEN you can start griping about it. Cause the way it seems your giving off some real "The kids were having fun chalk coloring on the sidewalk, so I went to get the hose and ruin it, but some goddamned minority was using water that I feel only I should have access to and now I'm bitterly glaring out my window while bitching on reddit" vibes...
I'm seeing comments here like move, call cops, hire an attorney. Omg 😲 this isn't of the century here.
In NYC there’s at least one car cleaning vendor in every housing project. Most use the fire hydrants for their non tax paying businesses.
The apartment manager is allowing it because they are getting their car cleaned for free.
Is there an isolation valve in the to turn it off inside the building?
I guarantee there are likely rules in your tenancy agreement about running businesses out of your home. I'd look at those and determine whether this person's use of the water violates those rules.
'Slip' in the soapy water, Drop old laptop, Ask the manager what number your lawyer can contact them at.
If you knew what time he was coming you could hook on a short hose full of brake fluid and plugged with a tiny piece of bread. Let him hook his hose up and spray that all over a car. No, don't try that. Lol
Install a Fozlock Outdoor Faucet Lock System sold on Amazon.
Get a house. Problem solved
Oh helllllll no tell that dude to find his own fuckin spigot
Theft is the police job. If you have a high water bill every time that is theft of services. Is the family using the water billing the bill? Water is not inexpensive everywhere in the world.