California is in the middle of a drought and this severe water shortage has resulted in some cutbacks in the state. In Santa Cruz, there are a number of fines and penalties that can be charged if your Santa Cruz tenants go over a certain allotment of water. This has left many Santa Cruz rental property owners wondering what they can do to prevent such fines and over-usage of water.
In many cases, we have made some changes to the landscaping of the properties we manage. We have turned over the landscape to something that’s a bit more drought-tolerant. Most of our properties are moving towards not having any grass, which needs lots of water. There are a number of things you can do with landscaping that ensures you won’t need a lot of water.
Outside of landscaping, make sure you have water conservation methods in place inside the home. This means replacing your shower heads and water faucets to low flow fixtures. In Santa Cruz, it’s a requirement to have low flow toilets. There are many additional services you can get from local government agencies. Check with your local city to see what ordinances they have in place, and whether any rebates are offered when you switch to conservation techniques. It will save you a lot of money when you put them in place and you won’t have to worry about fines on behalf of your tenants.
For more information on how to deal with the drought, please contact us at Portola Property Management, and we’d be happy to help you.
