My landlord has given me and my two flatmates our water bill for the past 2 months. It comes to around 700快. This seems frankly ridiculous. It's as expensive as that because the water meter apparently shows that we 3 used 80吨 (tons) in 2 months. The landlord thinks that this is just down to us using a lot of water for showers, but after asking friends and doing some internet research, this seems unbelievable. I'm pretty sure the landlord isn't trying to cheat us. Her idea of being helpful, however, is to point out that chinese medicine holds daily showers to be a bad idea, so we should cut down for the sake of our health and our wallets.

I can only think of three possibilities:

1. The water meter is broken.
2. The neighbours are somehow interfering with the reading. (Our meter is in our neighbours' apartment, along with theirs; there are 6 people in that apartment, yet they use less than half the amount we apparently do.)
3. There is a leak somewhere. The landlord is certain that if this were so, and the leak were as big as it seems, it would be immediately apparent. All that water would have to go somewhere...right?

Has anyone else encountered anything similar? How would you recommend trying to identify the cause of the problem. Suggestions gratefully received.

Why don't you get the bills delivered to your directly from the companies themselves? I insisted that my previous landlord accompanied me to the company and gave my mobile number for electronic bills. I wouldn't trust anyone here handling the bills between me and those that I have to pay. Can you ask the water company to come check if everything is running normally at your place (maybe avoid warning the neighbours beforehand and just show up with the company guys to check if the meter has been modified

How long have you been living in this apartment? How long have your room mates been there? What floor are you living on? Is this your first water bill since you moved in. Try to retrace the the pipe from the meter up to your apratment and also check the roof to see the hot water heater. From time to time when I visit freinds in high rise apartments I can see the hot water heaters leaking or should I say pouring water and no one even knows about it. When visiting my friend, I have seen the same water heaters leaking 3 months later. Do not pay until you get some answers. Another problem is that if you just moved in then you are probably paying the bill for the previous tenant who did not pay. What was the original meter reading when you moved in? You can go to the water company and get see all the previous bills but you will need the password and account number from the landlord. They sometimes will not tell you if you only have address and apartment number.

I'm almost certain you are being skimmed don't know who, but it's already illegal to not have the meter in your apartment. proving that the meter at your neighbors is counting for.yours and theirs. To bypass their water line by using your line is extremely easy since most buildings use the same canal for the pipes.
again it's illegal to have no meter for your apartment. you should point that out. if you'd had a meter you could check for a leak. although if there'd be a leak you could smell or see it by now especially leaking several cubic meters of water. Talk to your landlord that for one day you won't use water after checking the meter. then don't use. let the landlord checkthe meter again. then you know for sure. seeing the decadene of the water thieves i don't think the landlord's inquiries would raise suspicion.

Good advice from HFCAMPO. Also check if your toilet is constantly leaking/flushing. This cost us a lot of money too,,

Especially in summer its common for Solar heaters to boil and over run.

You can ask for the meter to be checked, if its checked and found to be not working properly then the water company pays for this checking, and then your bill is adjusted.

Excellent advice guys!

To the OP, you can call Kunming water supply company at 96106, telling them your problems, see if they can arrange checkup at your place.

In case the problem persists, I suggest you choose a branch office of the water company close to your place, go there and tell them your problems. You can find the address here: www.kmwater.cn

Let us know how it goes.

Hey Andrew, a very similar phenomenom happened to me. The meter was outside fortunately so I could check and see that little black wheel spinning full speed ahead, all faucet closed, no leak anywhere.

I found out, closing a valve, that it solved my problem.
The pipe, to which this valve was connected, seemed to be related with some water tank, maybe the one on the roof? I've no idea. And it was in the kichen.

it's your landlords respibsibility to find out why you have a bill that high.

80m3 is a looooot of water for two month. a leaking roof water heater would raise the bills of all tennants if you don.t have individual ones. but checking your water system isn't a bad idea. but it won't help you case. your landlord has to help there. and yes don't pay until you know why your bill is so high.

Call the water dept to have them inspect the meter and line. If you're not using lots of water, then you may have a leak. That's what spiked our water meter. We also had a leaky toilet - that spiked our meter on another separate occasion (like doubled to tripled the usual bill).

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I really appreciate it. Looks like I need to get the water company to check the pipes and meter asap. If I can't get the landlord to arrange it I'll do it myself using the info provided by A-Unit.

I'll report back with anything useful I learn, or just how it goes.

Thanks again.