A single shower feels cheap. Multiply it across a full rental portfolio, a year of tenants who never see the bill, and rising Australian water and energy prices, and it becomes one of the most overlooked line items in a landlord's operating budget.
An older, standard showerhead delivers 15 to 20 litres of water every minute, while a water-efficient head cuts that to around 9 litres per minute, according to Australian hot water specialists 1st Choice Hot Water. That means a 10-minute shower runs through 150 to 200 litres on an old head, or about 90 litres on an efficient one. Over a day, in a share house with four tenants, that single fixture can move more than half a bathtub of hot water down the drain.
Showers are not a minor use. Yarra Valley Water's data shows showers make up an average of 31% of a typical household's water use, the single largest indoor category, and average shower times have crept up from 6.5 to 7 minutes over the past decade (Yarra Valley Water). Internationally, the American Geophysical Union puts showers at roughly 30% of all indoor water, second only to toilets (AGU). Our shower duration facts and figures break the numbers down visually.
The bigger cost is heat. Hot water accounts for 20 to 50% of household energy use, and showering alone can be responsible for up to 48% of that hot water energy, per a 2025 study in the Journal of Cleaner Production (ScienceDirect). So every long shower spends water twice: once at the meter, and again at the hot water system, where the real money is.
What you'll learn in this guide:
Key takeaway
Showers are the largest controllable water and energy use in most homes. In a rental where you cover the utilities, that cost lands on you, not the person taking the 20-minute shower.
The shower share
How much of your water and energy goes on showers
Sources: Yarra Valley Water, ARENA, Journal of Cleaner Production (2025).
The cost of a shower is duration multiplied by two meters: water and energy. Australian device maker Showertimer estimates a 12-minute electric shower at 12 litres per minute costs more than $1.50 in a typical city, at over 15 cents per minute for heated water alone (Showertimer).
Add current tariffs and the picture sharpens. Sydney Water's usage charge rises to $3.41 per kilolitre for drinking water plus $1.50 for wastewater in 2026-27 (Sydney Water), and NSW residential gas runs about 4.3 cents per megajoule (Electricity Provider). On those numbers a gas-heated shower works out roughly as follows.
| Shower length | Water used (12 L/min) | Approx. total cost |
| 4 minutes | ~48 litres | ~$0.49 |
| 7 minutes | ~84 litres | ~$0.87 |
| 10 minutes | ~120 litres | ~$1.24 |
Sources: Sydney Water 2026-27 tariffs, Electricity Provider (NSW gas). Combined water, wastewater and gas; electric hot water runs higher.
Cutting a 10-minute shower to 4 minutes saves about $0.75 per shower on gas and closer to $0.85 on electric. That sounds trivial until you count occupants and days: one daily shower saved adds up to roughly $274 per person per year, or around $822 for a three-person household on Sydney gas tariffs. In higher-frequency settings like student housing, where tenants often shower before and after work or sport, the same maths pushes past $1,200 per household.
The energy source changes the shape of the bill. Gas is generally the cheaper way to heat water, though prices are rising (1st Choice Hot Water). Heating water for a shower from 10 to 40 degrees takes roughly 1.5 megajoules per minute at 12 litres per minute. At the NSW market gas rate of 4.3 cents per megajoule that is about 6.5 cents a minute in energy; on electric storage at a typical 30 cents per kilowatt-hour it is closer to 12 to 13 cents a minute.
Layer the water and wastewater charge on top and a single 10-minute shower lands near $1.24 on gas and about $1.85 on electric in Greater Sydney. For a landlord, the takeaway is that electric hot water systems, common in apartments and newer build-to-rent stock, carry the highest exposure to long showers.
| Hot water type | Energy cost / minute | 10-min shower (all in) | 4-min shower (all in) |
| Gas storage / instant | ~6.5c | ~$1.24 | ~$0.49 |
| Electric storage | ~12 to 13c | ~$1.85 | ~$1.00 |
Sources: Showertimer, Electricity Provider, Sydney Water. Indicative, 12 L/min, temperature rise 10 to 40 degrees.
None of this is static. Average Australian water bills already sit around $208 a quarter, ranging from $191 in Victoria to $240 in Queensland (Service Today), and Sydney Water lifted its drinking-water usage charge from $3.17 to $3.41 per kilolitre in a single year, with a drought rate of $3.84 waiting behind it (Sydney Water). Electricity is projected to rise about 0.8% a year across the decade (AEMC). Every one of those increases makes an uncontrolled shower more expensive next year than it is today.
Here is the part landlords miss. When utilities are bundled into rent, the tenant has no price signal. Nobody watching a meter takes a shorter shower, so bills-included tenants tend to shower longer and more often than owner-occupiers, and every extra minute is spent on your account.
The reference point most operators quote is Yarra Valley Water's finding that trimming the average shower from 7.1 to 4 minutes saves about 24 litres per shower and around $200 a year for a three-person household on gas (Yarra Valley Water). Across a portfolio of HMOs, co-living rooms or student beds, that per-household figure multiplies into thousands of dollars of avoidable spend every year. We modelled the bigger picture in what would happen if everyone in Australia took 4-minute showers.
Key takeaway
On a bills-included rental, shower length is a cost you pay and a habit you don't control. That is exactly the gap worth closing, and the reason we walk through what actually reduces shower use in rentals in the next guide.
"Our teens went from 20 to 30 minute showers to mostly 4 minutes. The change was surprisingly easy."
Katherine S, ShowerStar customerIt depends on the state and the setup. Where a property is separately metered and meets water-efficiency rules, tenants generally pay for the water they use. In New South Wales, a landlord can only pass on water usage charges if showerheads and taps flow at no more than 9 litres per minute and toilets are dual-flush (Tenants' Union of NSW). Victoria requires the renter to pay usage on a separately metered property, and obliges rental providers to fix or replace inefficient fixtures (Consumer Affairs Victoria). Queensland sets similar water-efficiency criteria before charges can be passed on (RTA Queensland).
But in many HMOs, share houses, student accommodation, co-living schemes and short-stay lets, utilities stay in the landlord's name and are folded into rent for simplicity and marketability. In those cases you are the payer for both usage and fixed charges, regardless of how long anyone showers. And if your fixtures do not meet the efficiency standard, you may be blocked from passing on charges even where the property is metered, so an inefficient showerhead can cost you twice.
| Rental setup | Who usually pays water usage | Your exposure |
| Separately metered, efficient fixtures | Tenant | Low, behaviour is their cost |
| Not water-efficient (NSW/QLD) | Landlord (can't pass on) | High until fixtures upgraded |
| Bills-included (HMO, student, co-living, BTR) | Landlord | High, no tenant price signal |
Sources: Tenants' Union of NSW, Consumer Affairs Victoria, RTA Queensland.
Want the number for your own property? Put your tariffs, shower count and target time into the calculator.
Try the Shower Savings CalculatorShower use is not spread evenly through the day. It clusters into two sharp peaks, morning and evening (ScienceDirect). In a building with a centralised hot water plant, common in build-to-rent and student accommodation, dozens of tenants showering at once creates a spike that the plant has to be sized and fuelled to meet. On electric systems that evening peak can also coincide with the most expensive time-of-use energy and the dirtiest grid supply.
For an operator, shorter and slightly more spread-out showers do more than trim volumetric cost. They ease peak load, which feeds into plant sizing, maintenance cycles and, increasingly, building ratings. It is a structural saving that compounds on top of the per-shower dollars.
The energy story matters beyond the bill. Domestic hot water accounts for about a quarter of energy use in the home and roughly a fifth of Australian residential greenhouse emissions, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Showers are the largest slice of that.
For anyone running apartment buildings, build-to-rent or student housing, that connects directly to NABERS energy and water ratings. Reducing shower demand lowers operating cost and emissions intensity at the same time, two metrics that increasingly shape valuations, tenant appeal and ESG reporting. It is the same logic that makes showers a priority for water and energy utilities running efficiency programs.
The mistake to avoid
Assuming tenants will self-regulate. Signage and polite requests move behaviour by a few percent at best, and rarely for long. Long showers are a habit, not a decision, which is why the fix has to change the moment, not the mindset.
Between about 90 litres with a water-efficient head at 9 litres per minute, and 150 to 200 litres with an older head at 15 to 20 litres per minute (1st Choice Hot Water). Flow rate matters as much as time, which is why both fixture and habit are worth addressing. Our guide on water-saving shower devices for rentals compares the options.
Roughly $0.50 to $1.90 depending on length, flow rate and whether hot water is gas or electric. A 12-minute electric shower typically tops $1.50 (Showertimer). You can model your exact figure with the Shower Savings Calculator.
Gas is generally the cheaper way to heat water in Australia, at roughly 6.5 cents a minute versus 12 to 13 cents on electric storage for a standard shower (Electricity Provider). Electric hot water carries the highest exposure to long showers, so it is where behaviour change pays back fastest.
On a separately metered property that meets water-efficiency standards, tenants usually pay for usage while landlords cover fixed service charges. In bills-included rentals, common in HMOs, student housing and co-living, the landlord pays for everything, including every long shower (Tenants' Union of NSW).
Yes. Showers are about 31% of household water use and up to 48% of hot water energy (Yarra Valley Water; ScienceDirect). In a multi-tenant property they are usually the single largest controllable utility cost.
Change the shower itself, flow rate and duration, rather than relying on tenant goodwill. The most reliable route combines an efficient head with real-time feedback that nudges shorter showers. See how a smart shower timer works in rental properties.
See what your showers are really costing
ShowerStar cuts the average shower by 3.2 minutes, around 30% less water and energy, with the savings proven in the app. Two-minute DIY install, no plumber.
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