# Submetering Disadvantages, and How to Work Around Them

Source: https://submeter.com/submetering-disadvantages/
Publisher: National Exemption Service (NES), https://submeter.com. Last reviewed September 2026.

An honest look at the downsides of submetering and the ways NES handles each one.

## What are the disadvantages of submetering?
Submetering has three real downsides. First, there is an upfront cost for meters and installation, since each unit needs its own equipment. Second, older buildings can be hard to fit. Water submetering works best when a unit has a single main line with room for a meter, and some old plumbing does not. Third, billing residents every month is ongoing work that someone has to manage and keep compliant with state and local rules. None of these are dealbreakers. NES offers financing for properties that qualify, surveys your plumbing before quoting so there are no surprises, and runs all billing and resident support in house. For buildings that cannot be metered, ratio or formula-based billing is an alternative. Most owners see payback in 12 to 18 months once residents start paying for what they use.

## The three real downsides
- Upfront cost: every unit needs its own meter and the labor to install it.
- Old plumbing: water metering needs one main line per unit with space for a meter, which some older buildings lack.
- Ongoing billing: reading meters, billing residents, and staying compliant takes steady effort every month.

## How NES handles each one
We offer submetering financing for properties that qualify, so the upfront cost does not have to come out of pocket all at once. Before we quote anything, our team surveys your plumbing to confirm what can be metered and flags units that need a workaround. And we run billing, collections, and resident questions with our own in-house bilingual team, so the monthly work does not land on your staff. Our compliance team tracks state and county rules, which change often.

## Questions
**Is the upfront cost worth it?**
For most properties, yes. Once residents pay for the water they use, consumption usually drops 15 to 30 percent and owners typically see payback in 12 to 18 months. The total billed back to residents never exceeds your master-meter cost.

**What if my plumbing is too old to meter?**
We survey the building first. If individual metering is not practical, ratio or formula-based billing recovers utility costs without new hardware.