Utility Bill

[jdbarker]

I live in Mesa Arizona. I have lived in the same apartment for 4 years now. About 2 years into living here they decided to start charging for utilities. Well when they first started this they where charging 35$ a month and they only charged for adults. Well now they are charging us 100$ a month and charging us for our 2 kids that are 5 and 2. The apartments are set up with 1 meter for the complex and not metered per unit. They use a percentage based on tenants per unit and unit size to determine the amount owed per unit. We are trying to find out if this is legal or not.. If anybody has any advise please help!!!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Gail in Georgia]

This is the way it is usually done in these types of setups. Logically, a family of four are going to use a higher amount of utilities than, say, a single person.

$100 a month for utilities is cheap!

Gail

[Cvillecpm]

If they gave you proper notice for the charging of utilities, the # of occupants appears to be more equitable than per adult.

[ecmst12]

$100 per month for all utilities, not bad. My gas/electric bill was over $300 for most of the summer and will probably be over $200 for the winter.

[treese]

§ 33-1314.01. Utility charges; submetering;
ratio utility billing; allocation; water system
exemption

A. A landlord may charge separately for gas, water,
wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity by
installing a submetering system or by allocating the
charges separately through a ratio utility billing system.
B. If a landlord charges separately for a utility pursuant
to subsection A, the landlord may recover the charges
imposed on the landlord by the utility provider plus an
administrative fee for the landlord for actual
administrative costs only. The landlord shall not
impose any additional charges. The rental agreement
shall contain a disclosure that lists the utility services
that are charged separately and shall specify the
amount of any administrative fee that is associated
with submetering or the use of a ratio utility billing
system.
C. If provided in the rental agreement, the landlord may
impose a submetering system or ratio utility billing
system during the term of a rental agreement if the
landlord provides notice as prescribed by subsection
G.
D. If a landlord is not in compliance with subsection B,
the tenant shall first object in writing to the landlord
regarding the utility billing. If the dispute is not
resolved, the tenant may file a civil complaint in justice
court to enforce this section.
E. If a landlord uses an allocation or submetering
system, the bill format for each billing period shall:
1. Separately state the cost of the charges for the
period together with the opening and the closing meter
readings and the dates of the meter readings.
2. Show the amount of any administrative fee charged.
F. If a landlord does not use a submetering system and
allocates charges separately for gas, water,
wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity, the
landlord may allocate the costs to each tenant by using
one or more of the following ratio utility billing system
methods:
1. Per tenant.
2. Proportionately by livable square footage.
3. Per type of unit.
4. Per number of water fixtures.
5. For water and wastewater, by use of an individually
submetered hot water usage measure for the tenant's
dwelling unit.
6. Any other method that fairly allocates the charges
and that is described in the tenant's rental agreement.
G. If a landlord uses a ratio utility billing system method
pursuant to subsection F, the rental agreement shall
contain a specific description of the ratio utility billing
method used to allocate utility costs. For any existing
tenancies, the landlord shall provide at least ninety
days' notice to the tenant before the landlord begins
using a submetering system or allocating costs through
a ratio utility billing system.
H. For purposes of regulating apartment communities
as public or consecutive water systems, the
department of environmental quality shall not adopt
rules pursuant to title 49, chapter 2, article 9 that are
more stringent than those authorized by federal law.
Without other evidence of activities that are subject to
regulation under title 49, chapter 2, article 9, the
department of environmental quality shall not use an
apartment community's use of a submetering system
or a ratio utility billing system as the sole basis for
regulating an apartment community as a public or
consecutive water system.