Whopping water bills: Chicago landlord in dispute with city over charges after new meter installed

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Whopping water bills are being disputed by a local landlord.

The woman turned to the ABC7 I-Team to help with her battle against the City of Chicago. It's all over tens of thousands of dollars in water bills.

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What if the city said you owed $10,000 for fewer than six months of water usage? That's just one of the "whopping water bills" a local woman is fighting. The city blamed the bills on leaks, but the landlord says that can't be true.

Since a meter was installed in Sherife Jusufi's building, water bills have sunk back to normal, about $350-450 a month, but she's still fighting what she calls a $10,000 overcharge at her three-unit rental in Uptown.

Her bill battle started In July of 2023, when two months of usage shot up to nearly $6,000.

"Then I ended up with the bill for $1,700, another one for $1,600, and then I demanded that they replace the meter, because I said there's a defect in the meter," Jusufi said.

Those charges racked up to a whopping $10,000, and a collection agency is after her. She says she was being told she used about 1,000 gallons of water over a five-to-six-month period.

"There'd be a major flood in the building with that much water that they're telling me I'm using," Jusufi said.

Jusufi says her maintenance person searched for a leak and never found one, but the city wouldn't budge.

"The water department kept telling me, 'No, there was a leak,'" Jusufi said. "And I said, no, there's no leak anywhere. Well, when they replaced the meter, everything went to normal usage."

Since then, Jusufi says she's had no issues with the bills, and she says her family dealt with a similar issue next door at another three-floor, 12-unit rental, only they paid the bill. She says her family paid about $19,000 in overcharges from a two-year period before a new meter went in. That price dropped monthly after they say the new meter was installed.

She also says she was overcharged $2,500, before a new meter was installed, at a Lincoln Park property, where there was little to no water usage at an event space, which isn't yet open.

Randy Conner is the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water Management. The water department declined the I-Team's repeated requests for a comment or interview for this report.

ABC7 sent that office and the Department of Finance all of Jusufi's documents and bills, and since the bills are collected by the Department of Finance, the I-Team stopped by that office in mid-March. LaKesha Gage-Woodard the former Office of Budget Management Director of Public Affairs who was serving in that position at the time, came out to speak to ABC7.

"Did you have an appointment?" Gage-Woodard said.

"We have emails dating back more than six months where we haven't gotten a response, so we'd like to talk to someone in Finance Department or the comptroller," the I-Tea, said.

"Got you. The comptroller is in a meeting right now," Gage-Woodard replied. "In terms of the things you have sent to me, to have the team look at, we have looked at and followed up with customers directly. 31:10 JK

"How can people be told they have a leak and then the new meter solved the problem," the I-Team asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"We don't comment on details of individual customer account." Gage-Woodard said.

Less then an hour after ABC7 left, the city's comptroller called the I-Team, saying his team would review the bills in question, with the Water Department.

Jusufi says she is now working with the city on the properties in question and they quickly corrected $2,500 in overcharges on that event space not yet in use.

"What they're doing is absolutely insane, and I don't think it is fair to the taxpayers of Chicago," Jusufi said.

If you are fighting a big water bill, you can call 311 and request a meter test and have a plumber check for leaks. The city says it's committed to accurate billing and it has a leak relief program for those who are experiencing Leaks.

Jusufi is also scheduled to meet in-person with the comptroller and other city officials about the other bills.

The city shared the following statement and resources:
"The City is committed to accurate billing and proactive support for approximately 500,000 water accounts. When usage spikes occur, the Department of Water Management helps homeowners identify causes like undetected leaks. While legally required to charge for metered water, the City offers the Leak Relief Program (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/leak-relief-program/home.html) and income-based Utility Billing Relief (UBR) (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/provdrs/utility_billing/svcs/utility-bill-relief-program.html) to provide discounts and debt forgiveness to those who qualify for assistance. We are continuously working to expand these programs and simplify applications to ensure equitable relief reaches as many Chicagoans as possible."