California is experiencing one of the worst droughts in recent history. Governor Jerry Brown has mandated through executive order that there has to been a 25% reduction in is potable urban water use state wide. The goal is to save 1.2 million acre feet of water in the next 9 months. Since anywhere from 50% to 80% of residential water use is for outdoor activities the conservation effort is going to focus on this nonessential use. If you are a landlord or property manager in California these regulations will affect you directly.
According to the guidelines property owners are not allowed to use potable water to wash sidewalks or driveways, allow runoff when irrigating with potable water and one cannot irrigate outdoors within 48 hours of measurable rainfall. If this rules are broken property owners can be fined up to $500 a day.
It is too soon to know how the long the drought in California will last and if it will have any effect on home prices or the rental market. What we do know is landlords as well as their tenants have a responsibility to restrict their water use and failure to do some could cost tenants and landlords thousands of dollars
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.