water meter

I live in the New York area and own a 3 family home. Until now, we did not have a water meter installed on the property. The 2 tenants have washing machines which up until this point have been no problem but with the upcoming installation of the water meter which is required, do i have a right to have the tenant choose whether he wants to increase their rent due to the water meter and keep their washing machine or remove the washing machine from their apt? Which is the legal thing to do? thanks janet

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by paulandjanet:
I live in the New York area and own a 3 family home. Until now, we did not have a water meter installed on the property. The 2 tenants have washing machines which up until this point have been no problem but with the upcoming installation of the water meter which is required, do i have a right to have the tenant choose whether he wants to increase their rent due to the water meter and keep their washing machine or remove the washing machine from their apt? Which is the legal thing to do? thanks janet<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you did not have a meter how were you getting water to the property and how were you paying for it? Or do you have a well?
Regardless, if the lease agreement states that L pays for water then you can not deprive T of the washing machine. Explain the exact situation please.

the water was included in my taxes now the state wants to install a meter so we can pay for our exact water usuage. the tenants have no lease agreement. hope this information helps you. If we had no agreement with the tenants how do i explain the situation to them . I will be paying for all the water in every apt. ( they will not install separate meters for each apt). I can understand paying for the regular water usuage but washing machines use a lot of water and my tenants tend to run their machines every day. what do you suggest?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by paulandjanet:
the water was included in my taxes now the state wants to install a meter so we can pay for our exact water usuage. the tenants have no lease agreement. hope this information helps you. If we had no agreement with the tenants how do i explain the situation to them . I will be paying for all the water in every apt. ( they will not install separate meters for each apt). I can understand paying for the regular water usuage but washing machines use a lot of water and my tenants tend to run their machines every day. what do you suggest?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Give all the tenants 45-60 days written notice of the increase in their rent due to the installation of the water meter. They can either pay or go to the nearest laundromat.