The City of Vancouver has agreed to pick up the heat and hot water costs for about 170 tenants living in the social housing block of the former Olympic Village until June.

The city has been covering the utility bills since January because of inaccurate meter readings on 168 units, and announced Friday it will continue to cover the costs until June 30, 2012.

"We just have some more work to do on the systems and the city took the decision to keep absorbing the costs of the heat and the hot water until we can be sure we are operating the systems in a way that is fair and equitable to the tenants," said property Manager Thom Armstrong.

He said the monthly bill is about $15,000 but the city wants to ensure the billing is fair before it is enforced.

"The city has determined we just don't have enough confidence that the building systems are delivering energy in a way that can be metered accurately," he said.

"We want all the tenants to be comfortable that their actual consumption is being reflected in their bill."

Armstrong said the same systems in Europe have been problematic for as long as two years before things are worked out.

He said the city expects all tenants regardless of income levels to start paying their bills in July.

With files from The Canadian Press