Uptown landlord Sherife Jusufi says a bad city water meter left her staring down tens of thousands of dollars in charges that made no sense for her buildings. The bills, she says, suddenly exploded after a new meter went in, then dropped back to normal as soon as that meter was swapped out again. While a collection agency keeps chasing the disputed balance, the fight has now moved into City Hall as Jusufi prepares to meet with officials and push for corrections.
Jusufi told reporters that starting in July 2023, two months of usage spiked to nearly $6,000 and that later bills of about $1,700 and $1,600 pushed the total tab to roughly $10,000 for her three-unit Uptown rental. She also says a nearby 12-unit family building was allegedly overcharged by about $19,000 over two years. As reported by ABC7 Chicago, she demanded that the city replace the meter and says monthly bills dropped back to roughly $350 to $450 once the swap was made. According to ABC7, the Department of Water Management declined to comment on individual accounts, while the city’s comptroller offered to review her disputed bills.
Her story is not a one-off. Recent reporting has highlighted other Chicago homeowners and landlords opening their mail to find massive water bills, sometimes because meters were misread or accounts were linked to the wrong properties. NBC Chicago detailed a family who was mistakenly sent a $17,395 bill that the city later largely wiped out, and other investigations have uncovered six-figure statements tied to vacant or mis-assigned accounts. Those stories have pushed aldermen and consumer advocates to call for more inspections and faster fixes when something looks off.
A Pattern Across The City
City watchdogs and local news outlets say these bill spikes point to deeper problems in how Chicago tracks and collects for water use. They have cited meter misreads, slow or confusing responses from city departments, and aggressive collection tactics once an account is marked overdue. City Bureau has chronicled cases where new meters suddenly showed usage that did not match reality, and the Chicago Sun-Times reported that in recent years the city has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in water debt to collection agencies. The result, critics say, is property owners and tenants scrambling to prove the city is wrong before fees, penalties and collections snowball.
City Response And Relief Programs
City officials say they are “committed to accurate billing” and point residents to programs that can help correct errors or forgive certain charges. Details on eligibility and how to apply are posted on the City of Chicago’s Leak Relief Program page and the income-based Utility Billing Relief (UBR) program. Officials also advise residents to request an inspection or meter test through 311 if water usage suddenly looks wildly out of step with normal consumption.
Where This Leaves Jusufi
Jusufi says the city has already corrected a $2,500 overcharge on a Lincoln Park event space and that she is now scheduled to meet with the comptroller and other officials about the remaining disputed balances. As reported by ABC7 Chicago, the comptroller’s office told the I-Team it would review her bills in coordination with the Department of Water Management, even as a collection agency continues to press her for payment. For now, she says her monthly charges have settled back into a normal range after the meter was replaced.
What Landlords And Tenants Can Do
Residents who get a shocking spike in their water bill are urged to keep detailed records, including copies of bills and meter reads, and to have a plumber look for leaks or line problems. They can then request a city inspection or meter test and, if needed, contact their alderman to help push the case along. Reporting by NBC Chicago shows that inspections and alderman involvement have led to corrections in several accounts. People who are already being contacted by collectors are also encouraged to ask about UBR or Leak Relief eligibility while they formally dispute what they owe.
Jusufi’s experience underscores how a single faulty meter reading can quickly grow into a massive balance and collection calls if the system does not catch mistakes fast enough. Her upcoming review with the comptroller and the water department will be an early measure of how well Chicago’s relief programs and inspection process can keep billing errors from turning into financial disasters.
