Winnipeg man still stuck with $27K water bill even though ombudsman says it's unfair
Jacques Marcoux | CBC News | Posted: August 29, 2018 9:50 PM | Last Updated: August 30, 2018
Homeowner initiates legal fight after ombudsman's recommendations rejected by city officials
A Winnipeg homeowner is taking the city to court after the Manitoba ombudsman concluded the city had unfairly issued a water bill for more than $27,000 — a view disputed by city officials.
In an Aug. 7, 2018, report, the office of the ombudsman recommended the city consider a partial adjustment to the bill given the unusual circumstances surrounding this case.
In late 2016, Azhar Mubeen demolished the home on a property he bought in St. Vital's Glenwood neighbourhood, where he planned to build a new home.
Early in 2017, he received a water and sewer bill for $27,203 from the city.
He says all of the home's services were cut off before he obtained a demolition permit in December 2016, but the water meter couldn't initially be found. When he did find it during the excavation process, he called in the reading and then received the nearly $30,000 bill.
The city provided no explanation for the massive water bill, which it insists Mubeen is responsible for.
He did pay the bill so that he could sell the property to a new owner, but he filed a complaint with the Manitoba Ombudsman.
On Wednesday, he filed a civil case against the city, seeking a refund for the bill he paid.
The ombudsman's report did find the city acted in accordance with its current policies and bylaws, but still recommended city officials take into account mitigating circumstances in cases of unexpectedly high water bills to ensure reasonable and fair billings.
The city administration responded to the report, stating the city would not adopt these recommendations as it would "introduce unfairness to the existing policy" since dozen of previous claimants in similar situations were denied financial relief.
However, the report has yet to be sent to council for consideration, at which point council could override the administration's initial response.
Timeline of events
- The St. Vital property was purchased by Mubeen and his wife, Shaffaq Asif, in 2016. They are immigrants from Pakistan who lived in Calgary for over a decade prior to moving to Winnipeg. Their intention was to knock down the existing structure and build a new home.
- They failed to provide a water meter reading at the time of possession to determine what proportion of the bill should be assigned to original owner. The meter was behind a trap door that was jammed, and so the meter was not read before the home was demolished.
- However, it was confirmed by the city that the water to the property had been shut off by a city employee in 2015 prior to the sale of the home at the request of the original owner.
- Eventually the now-removed water meter was brought into the city for a recording after requests from the city were not immediately returned. The city issued Mubeen a water bill for $27,247, which he had to pay in full since he decided to sell his new property.
- The meter was discarded by the city, meaning Mubeen could not inspect the device himself when it was requested later on.
Water bill liability policy
The city's policy says that if no water meter reading is taken at the time of possession of a new home, the new homeowner becomes liable for the water used from the last meter reading on the property prior to them taking ownership.
In addition, if the property is left vacant for extended periods of time, as this property was, an owner cannot make a claim under the city's Water Leak Credit policy.
The city has confirmed the previous owner had the water to the entire property shut off by the city when he left his home vacant for months prior to selling it. Prior to the demolition of the property months later, the city once again confirmed there was no water flow to the property.
Mubeen maintains he never touched the outside shut-off valve.
For these reasons, acting ombudsman Marc Cormier wrote in his report that "the evidence strongly shows that the $27,000 usage of water likely occurred prior to the complainant purchasing the property."
In response to this, city officials explained that it was possible the shut-off valve was opened and water used by Mubeen since those valves are not under lock. In the absence of evidence this did not happen, the city says it is obligated to follow its billing liability policy.
St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes, who has been following this issue closely, says he looks forward to discussing it with city staff.
"I do intend to follow up with staff, because I take what the ombudsman says very seriously," he said.
Mayes also cautions that many people sometimes view water as an unlimited resource, saying it's not "free" and that providing clean drinking water to Winnipeg homes constitutes a huge expense.
Court battle to continue
City lawyer Vivian Li told the court Wednesday her office would be filing a motion to have Mubeen's civil case thrown out in the coming weeks.
"I want to fix this...for everybody. No one [should] suffer and [feel this pain]," he told reporters outside the courthouse.
Read the ombudsman's report:
(Note: this version of the report does not yet contain the response from city council.)