Submetering Apartments in Arlington County, Virginia
When a Arlington County building shares one master meter, the owner carries the whole utility cost. NES installs the submeters, reads them daily, and bills your residents for their own use. Get a free bid.
NES handles water, gas & electric submetering for apartment communities, condominiums, and mobile home parks across Arlington County and the Northern Virginia. Install, meter reading, resident billing, and compliance, all handled in-house since 1968.
Arlington is one of the densest rental markets in the country. Six in ten homes are rented, and most of that stock is mid-rise and high-rise along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and Route 1, where a single master meter can carry hundreds of units. That scale is exactly where per-unit billing changes the numbers: water use drops when residents see their own bill, and the owner stops carrying the difference. Arlington County Water Utilities supplies the water and leaves everything past the master meter to the property, so NES owns the install, the reads, and the billing from that point.
Yes. Submetering is allowed in Arlington County, Virginia, with some restrictions.
It is set by Virginia SCC rules, and NES handles the requirements for you.
What we submeter
Water & sewer
Per-unit water and sewer metering with 24-hour leak alerts.
Natural gas
Gas meters on each unit, read and billed the same way as water.
Electric
Electric submetering on nonproprietary meters you own.
Submetering of electricity, natural gas, and water and sewer is allowed in Virginia: SCC rules (20 VAC 5-305) cover electric and gas submetering, and Virginia Code 55.1-1212 covers residential buildings, including water and sewer
For electricity and gas, residents are billed only for what their unit uses, at the utility's average cost per unit, with no markup on the utility itself (20 VAC 5-305-90), and water and sewer charges are passed through the same way
The owner may add a service charge for billing and administration, such as a monthly billing fee or account setup or move-out fee, to cover actual costs when it is stated in the lease (Virginia Code 55.1-1212 and 56-245.3)
Residents are billed for the same period as the utility serving the building, unless the lease expressly says otherwise (Virginia Code 55.1-1212)
From July 1, 2027, owners must keep a written description of how utility billing fees are calculated and a per-resident history of fee payments, and give residents an itemized utility statement, including the allocation method, within 10 business days of a written request (2026 amendments to Virginia Code 55.1-1212 and 55.1-1209)
Late fees on utility bills are capped at $5.00
NES tracks the current Virginia SCC requirements so your property stays compliant
Local Arlington County requirements
Water and sewer are provided by Arlington County Water Utilities (Department of Environmental Services)
Electricity is provided by Dominion Energy Virginia, and natural gas by Washington Gas
The County does not install or read submeters on its side of the meter (County Code Chapter 26), so the property owns and maintains them, which is how NES sets every install up
About six in ten Arlington homes are rented, and most of the apartment stock sits along the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors
We serve communities across Arlington County, including Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston, Crystal City, Pentagon City, Columbia Pike, and Shirlington
If Arlington County adds a requirement, NES adjusts your billing before it becomes a problem.
How NES keeps you compliant
Tracks every Virginia and local rule that affects your property
General information only, not legal advice; NES assumes no liability for reliance. Confirm current rules with the Virginia SCC or a qualified attorney.
Why owners in Northern Virginia use NES
Per gallon. Residents pay for what they actually use.
15-30%. Lower utility consumption.
Under 24 hr. Leaks flagged the same day.
What happens after you call
Step 1
Free assessment
We review your master-meter bills and unit count, then model what you would recover. There is no charge for this.
Step 2
Install meters
We install nonproprietary meters at each unit. The equipment is yours, and other companies can read it.
Step 3
Read & detect
Daily reads pull usage automatically and flag leaks within 24 hours, before they run up a bill.
Step 4
Bill & support
We bill residents, pay the master-meter utility, and field resident questions in-house, in English and Spanish.
Real NES results
130-home park, TexasWater & sewer
$6,600 / yr
annual water and sewer cost, down from $120,000
Before submetering$120,000 / yr
After submetering$6,600 / yr
The park also gained more than $113,000 in annual revenue once each home was billed for its own use. Figures from NES property records.
337-unit apartment communityWater
34% lower
water use per unit after submetering
Before submetering100%
After submetering66%
Water use fell 34% once residents paid for their own consumption, from 5,846 to 3,868 gallons per unit per month. Average cost per unit went from $84.72 to $54.22 a month, a 36% drop. Figures from NES property records.
Real NES properties. Results vary by property, utility rates, and resident mix.
Submetering in nearby Virginia cities
NES installs and runs submetering across Virginia. See the rules and results for other communities we serve.
Utility submetering puts a meter on each unit that measures and bills its water/sewer, gas, and electric use. The technology has been around since the early 1920s. NES installs the meters, reads them, pays the master-meter bill, and bills your residents, all in-house and with bilingual support.
When residents pay for what they actually use, they cut back. Most properties see 15 to 30 percent lower water use. Daily reads also catch leaks early, and common-area water stops getting spread across everyone's rent. Payback usually lands within 12 to 18 months.
Yes. Virginia allows submetering of electricity, natural gas, and water and sewer. SCC rules (20 VAC 5-305) govern electric and gas submetering, and Virginia Code 55.1-1212 covers residential buildings, including water and sewer. Residents are billed only for their unit's measured use at the utility's average cost per unit, and the owner may add a billing and administrative service charge that covers actual costs when it is in the lease (Virginia Code 55.1-1212). NES tracks every requirement so your property stays compliant.
Submetering of electricity, natural gas, and water and sewer is allowed in Virginia: SCC rules (20 VAC 5-305) cover electric and gas submetering, and Virginia Code 55.1-1212 covers residential buildings, including water and sewer. Utility service itself in Arlington County falls under the Virginia SCC. NES tracks the current Virginia and local requirements for your address, so billing is set up to match the rule.
Water and sewer are provided by Arlington County Water Utilities (Department of Environmental Services). NES works with whichever provider serves your property, installs the submeters, reads them, pays the master-meter bill, and bills your residents in-house across the Northern Virginia.
Most submetering installs pay for themselves within 12 to 18 months through the utility cost you recover. We'll run the numbers on your actual master-meter bills and unit count, then send you an estimate. You are not signing anything.
No. NES installs nonproprietary meters that other companies can read, The meters are yours, and extended warranties are available if you want one.
See what your Arlington County property can recover.
Send us your master-meter bills and unit count. We’ll run the numbers on your actual property and get back to you within one business day with an estimate.