A Winnipeg man who arranged to have water shut off in two of his properties says the city continued to charged him for estimated water usage and is looking for more than $20,000 in back taxes.

Marc Secter moved to the U.S. in 2012. Before the move, Secter called the city in 2011 and asked them to turn off the municipal water supplying two homes he owned which he planned to eventually renovate and sell.

Secter said the city complied. He assumed he wouldn't be billed for water to the buildings.

A Winnipeg man said he's being charged $21,000 in back taxes after the city's water and waster department continued to charge him for water to two of his properties he had arranged to have shut off in 2012. (CBC) But the city's water and waste department continued to charge him thousands of dollars in water bills for water he wasn't using.

"They say I'm supposed to have continued to call in readings, and to me it's like, isn't that a waste of my time and yours? I mean, if you guys have turned it off?" said Secter. "But they say 'not until they remove the meter.'"

Secter had a friend check up on the homes over the last few years and had no reason to believe anything was amiss. When he went to pay his outstanding property taxes in January of this year he discovered his two homes had been put up for tax sale.

"I'm going to lose a $250,000 property for 20-something thousand?" said Secter.

He said the city doesn't dispute the water had been shut off four years ago. But the city continued to charge him for estimated usage on each property, on top of late fees.

Secter said he now has to pay the city more than $21,000 in order to get out of tax sale.

"It's so ridiculous that I'm in tax sale and they say 'pay your taxes that are made up of more water charges on houses that have no water turned on for this entire time.'"

The city is now reviewing Secter's accounts. Secter has hired a lawyer.

The city told CBC News "the facts as presented are not accurate" and wouldn't provide further details because of privacy concerns. The city added that just because a property owner arranges to have water shut off doesn't mean they won't get billed. It says it's the responsibility of homeowners to report quarterly meter readings.