Bylaw allows city to pass $87,000 water bill to new homeowner

Larry and Tom Kisiloski at the house Tom bought and flipped.

A Winnipeg homeowner may be on the hook for a $87,000 water bill even though he is not responsible for consuming the water.

Tom Kisiloski, 86, has flipped about a dozen homes in his day. He has made a living buying properties, fixing them up and reselling homes.

This June, he bought a bungalow in the city. He said everything appeared fine with the sale until he called the city with the number on the water meter.

He said he was told about an unpaid water bill of $87,000.

Kisiloski is shocked and is now waiting for lawyers to sort it out – hoping he won’t be on the hook.

But staff in councillor Ross Eadie’s office did the research and found the city can charge Kisiloski.

Staff said the woman who owned the home before Kisiloski didn’t provide the city with the proper water meter numbers for years, and the problem was not discovered until after Kisiloski’s sale was finalized.

210(4)(c)(iii) of The City of Winnipeg Charter gives the city the right to add the outstanding bill onto the taxes of the property to which the water was supplied, regardless of who owns the property.

Ross Eadie said he believes the city made an error, by not catching the problem earlier.

“It’s totally wrong. It’s a loss of water, not money, ” said Eadie from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation on Friday. “I just don’t think the city should put a bill of $87,000 on people who had nothing to do with past water consumption."

Kisiloski said if he is forced to pay the money it would be devastating. He said the bill has caused another problem, and he has now been advised by his lawyers to hold off selling the property in question, even though it’s already been renovated.

The City of Winnipeg sent a statement to CTV regarding the matter: “In municipalities across Manitoba, water bills follow the property, not the owner. This means that any unpaid water bills will be added to property taxes. Anyone who buys a property and learns of unpaid water charges from the previous property owner should consult with a lawyer."

“When properties change hands, the purchaser’s lawyer usually imposes a trust condition to make sure that the property seller will not receive money from the sale until that water bill is paid.”

The statement said the most common reason for a high water bill is steady leaks.

Mel Boisvert with Winnipeg Realtors says the city collecting on such a bill is unrealistic, but said the high water bill is a shared responsibility.

“I think the responsibility falls on the city to unsure that he water is correct. Yes, there is some responsibility on behalf of the homeowner at closing, and that’s part of the due diligence from the lawyer that they generally do, and probably did in this case, but somewhere it slipped through the cracks, said Boisvert.