Requirements for Tenant Utility Billing

The bill establishes requirements for landlords, unit owners, and associations governing common interest communities (association) for billing a tenant for utility service. A landlord, a unit owner, or an association may individually bill a tenant using a submeter or bill a tenant through a ratio utility billing system, which is a system that allocates utility service costs among individual tenants based on a unit's square footage, occupancy, or other physical characteristics.Starting on January 1, 2027, all new residential construction must install individual submeters for each individual unit to measure water consumption for each unit. A tenant's utility bill for water utility service must be calculated based on the individual submeter reading.For existing residential properties and other types of utility service other than water service, the landlord, unit owner, or association may use a ratio utility billing system if they meet certain requirements.A landlord, a unit owner, or an association shall disclose to a tenant in the tenant's rental agreement the method by which the tenant's utility bills will be calculated.