Water Charges

[Sandy Roberts]

maryland; i rent a 2 bdrm townhouse and need to know if a landlord can charge any amount for water and include it in the rent when there is no separate water meters for each unit. can landlord charge all tenants the same amount for water no matter what the usage.

 

[LL]

Maybe. Check Maryland law and also your lease.

 

[mary hartman]

Sandy:

Logicaly if water is included in the rent, then USE IT....if the landlord specified a dollar about say water $40 a month in the lease then YOU have a right to see the bill and have the landlord prove the charges.....same as if the landlord makes you pay the bill he has to show you the Original bill then split it between the apartments...

Also he could be on a level paying plan in which he gets charged the same every month...

It is ALWAYS Illegal for a landlord to make up charges out of thin air!

[Edited by mary hartman on 04-03-2001 at 06:33 PM]

 

[LL]

Ohmigod, crazy mary again (aka dj, aka dj1).

The landlord can be the supplier of water and charge what he wants. If you want to go elsewhere for your water, go ahead. Don't forget that this is America. Its called deregulation.

Next, landlord charge all tenants the same amount for water no matter what the usage? Check Md law and also the lease.

As an example, CA law says If landlord does not provide separate meters for each tenant's dwelling unit so that each tenant's meter measures only the service to that dwelling unit, then landlord shall execute a mutual written agreement with the tenant for
payment by the tenant of the cost of the service.

Now what does MD law say? That the landlord cannot charge each tenant the same, regardless of usage? Check the lease? What does it say about payment for water? What does the law (and "mary") want the landlord to do?