Is it the responsibility not to inform you that you are in arrears with water charges?

If you don't notice that the water fee is in arrears, you are responsible.

If the water fee is in arrears, the water company shall send a payment notice to the user half a month before paying the water fee, or send a short message to the user when the pre-existing balance of the water fee is insufficient. There will be a late fee if the arrears are not traded, so the water company should inform the users in the case of arrears.

Three ways to deliver water bills:

1. In the residential area with property management, the meter reader will send the water fee notice to the residential property management office or the guard duty room;

2. For the community without property management but with the guard duty room, the meter reader will send a water fee notice to the guard duty room;

3. For long-term unattended residential quarters, meter readers will post notices in conspicuous locations, such as unit stairs.

To sum up, it is the responsibility not to report the arrears of water charges. The water supply company shall send a payment notice to the user half a month before paying the water fee, or send a short message to the user when the pre-existing balance of the water fee is insufficient. If the arrears are not traded, there will be a late fee. Therefore, in the case of arrears, the water supply company should inform the user.

Legal basis:

Article 465 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC)

Contracts established according to law are protected by law. A legally established contract is legally binding only on the parties, except as otherwise provided by law.

Article 466

If the parties have disputes over the understanding of the terms of the contract, the meaning of the disputed terms shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 142 of this Law. Where a contract text is concluded in two or more languages, and the agreement is equally authentic, the words used in each text shall have the same meaning. If the words and expressions used in each text are inconsistent, they shall be interpreted according to the relevant terms, nature, purpose and principle of good faith of the contract.

Article 496

Standard clauses are clauses drawn up by the parties in advance for reuse, and they were not negotiated by both parties when concluding the contract. Where a contract is concluded by standard terms, the party providing the standard terms shall follow the principle of fairness to determine the rights and obligations between the parties, and take reasonable measures such as exempting or lightening their responsibilities to remind the other party of the terms that have a significant interest in them, and explain the terms according to the requirements of the other party. If the party providing the standard terms fails to perform the obligation of prompting or explaining, so that the other party fails to pay attention to or understand the terms with which it has a significant interest, the other party may claim that the terms will not become the content of the contract.