Submetering Water: A Guide for Apartments, Condos, and Mobile Home Parks
Last reviewed September 2026NES Editorial, checked by the Billing & Compliance team
Water submetering puts a meter on each unit and bills residents for actual use, the core of effective water management across property types.
- Typical water savings
- 15-30%Typical water savings
- Typical payback
- ~12 moTypical payback
- Meter reads
- DailyMeter reads
- States served
- 43+States served
What is water submetering and how does it help?
Water submetering installs an individual meter for each unit to measure actual water consumption, then bills each resident for their usage. Across apartments, condominiums, and mobile home parks, it encourages conservation, recovers cost the owner used to absorb, and allocates expense fairly. Consumption usually drops 15 to 30 percent, and most installs pay for themselves in 12 to 18 months.
Understanding water submetering
Water submetering installs an individual meter for each unit to measure actual water consumption and bill each resident for what they use. When residents pay for their own water, usage drops, which lowers the property's overall consumption and bill.
Benefits across property types
- Encourages conservation by charging residents for their own use
- Recovers cost the owner used to absorb in rent
- Allocates expense fairly, so no one subsidizes a heavy user
- Surfaces leaks early through daily reads
- Works for apartments, condominiums, and mobile home parks
What it costs
Plan on a few hundred dollars per unit for the meter and a plumber's install, with each meter fitted in under 30 minutes. Most properties earn it back in 12 to 18 months. The full cost breakdown is on our submetering cost page.
The rules to check first
Submetering is legal in most states, but the details vary by state, county, and city, and they change. Some places cap fees; a few require approval before billing. NES verifies the rule for your exact address before billing starts. See our submetering regulations page for state examples.
How NES handles it
NES installs the meters, reads them daily, pays the master-meter bill, and bills residents, with an in-house bilingual support team. A compliance team verifies the rules for each property's location before billing starts.
Not sure submetering fits your property?
Start with a free assessment. Send NES your master-meter bills and unit count, and the team will confirm feasibility, estimate your return, and recommend the right method for your property, with no obligation.
Submetering Water: A Guide for Apartments, Condos, and Mobile Home Parks
See what your property can recover.
Send us your master-meter bills and unit count. We’ll run the numbers on your actual property and reply within one business day with a clear, no-obligation estimate.