By: Corte H.B. No. 1349
73R4599 JJT-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to billing for master metered and submetered water utility
1-3 service for certain dwelling units.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter M, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER M. SUBMETERING AND NONSUBMETERING FOR APARTMENTS
1-8 AND MOBILE HOME PARKS AND OTHER MULTIPLE USE FACILITIES
1-9 Sec. 13.501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-10 (1) "Apartment complex <house>" means one or more
1-11 buildings containing five or more dwelling units at a single
1-12 location and owned by the same owner which are occupied primarily
1-13 for nontransient use and have rent<, including a residential
1-14 condominium whether rented or owner occupied, and having rental>
1-15 paid, if a dwelling unit is rented, at intervals of one month or
1-16 longer. The term includes a residential condominium, whether
1-17 rented or owner occupied, and does not include a rooming house or
1-18 dormitory.
1-19 (2) "Dwelling unit" means:
1-20 (A) one or more rooms in an apartment complex
1-21 intended <in an apartment house or condominium, suitable> for
1-22 occupancy as a permanent residence under a single lease<, and
1-23 containing kitchen and bathroom facilities>; or
1-24 (B) a mobile home or a mobile home site in a
2-1 mobile home park.
2-2 (3) "Customer" means the individual, firm, or
2-3 corporation in whose name a master meter has been connected by the
2-4 utility service provider.
2-5 (4) "Nonsubmetered water <master metered utility>
2-6 service" means water <utility> service that is master metered for
2-7 the apartment complex <house> but not submetered for individual
2-8 dwelling units<, and wastewater utility service based on master
2-9 metered water utility service>.
2-10 (5) "Owner" means the legal titleholder of an
2-11 apartment complex <house>, mobile home park, or multiple use
2-12 facility and any individual, firm, or corporation that purports to
2-13 be the landlord of tenants in the apartment complex <house>, mobile
2-14 home park, or multiple use facility.
2-15 (6) "Tenant" means a person who is entitled to occupy
2-16 a dwelling unit or multiple use facility unit to the exclusion of
2-17 others and who is obligated to pay for the occupancy under a
2-18 written or oral rental agreement.
2-19 (7) "Multiple use facility" means commercial or
2-20 industrial parks, office complexes, marinas, and others
2-21 specifically identified in commission rules with five or more
2-22 units.
2-23 (8) "Mobile home park" means a property on which
2-24 parking spaces are rented to mobile dwelling units primarily for
2-25 nontransient use and for which rental is paid at intervals of one
2-26 month or longer.
2-27 (9) "Master metered" means measured by one or more
3-1 meters that serve a common area or more than one dwelling unit.
3-2 (10) "Submetered" means measured by a meter for an
3-3 individual dwelling unit in addition to a master meter for a common
3-4 area or an apartment complex, condominium complex, or mobile home
3-5 park. The term does not include the measurement of a service to an
3-6 individual dwelling unit by a meter that serves the unit and is
3-7 owned by a company providing the service.
3-8 (11) "Water service" means water or wastewater utility
3-9 service.
3-10 (12) "Common area" means all areas of an apartment
3-11 complex other than a dwelling unit.
3-12 Sec. 13.502. SUBMETERED WATER SERVICE <SUBMETERING>. An
3-13 apartment complex <house> owner, mobile home park owner, multiple
3-14 use facility owner, or condominium manager may provide for
3-15 submetering of each dwelling unit or rental unit for the
3-16 measurement of the quantity of water, if any, consumed by the
3-17 occupants of that unit.
3-18 Sec. 13.503. <SUBMETERING> RULES FOR SUBMETERED WATER
3-19 SERVICE. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission shall
3-20 adopt rules and standards under which an owner, operator, or
3-21 manager of an apartment complex <house>, mobile home park, or
3-22 multiple use facility that is not individually metered for water
3-23 for each rental or dwelling unit may install submetering equipment
3-24 for each individual rental or dwelling unit for the purpose of
3-25 fairly allocating the cost of each individual rental or dwelling
3-26 unit's water consumption, including wastewater charges based on
3-27 water consumption.
4-1 (b) In addition to other appropriate safeguards for the
4-2 tenant, the rules shall require that an apartment complex <house>
4-3 owner, mobile home park owner, multiple use facility owner, or
4-4 condominium manager may not impose on the tenant any extra charges,
4-5 over and above the cost per gallon that is charged by the retail
4-6 public utility to the owner or manager, and that the rental unit or
4-7 apartment complex <house> owner or manager shall maintain adequate
4-8 records regarding submetering and make the records available for
4-9 inspection by the tenant during reasonable business hours.
4-10 (c) All submetering equipment is subject to the rules and
4-11 standards established by the commission for accuracy, testing, and
4-12 record keeping of meters installed by utilities and to the
4-13 meter-testing requirements of Section 13.140 of this code.
4-14 Sec. 13.5031. <NONSUBMETERING> RULES FOR NONSUBMETERED WATER
4-15 SERVICE. Notwithstanding any other law, the commission shall adopt
4-16 rules and standards governing billing systems or methods used by
4-17 apartment complex <house> owners, condominium managers, or owners
4-18 of other multiple use facilities for prorating or allocating among
4-19 tenants nonsubmetered water <master metered utility> service costs.
4-20 In addition to other appropriate safeguards for the tenant, those
4-21 rules shall require that:
4-22 (1) the rental agreement contain a clear written
4-23 description of the method of calculation of the allocation of
4-24 nonsubmetered water service <master metered utilities> for the
4-25 apartment complex <house> or multiple use facility;
4-26 (2) the rental agreement contain a statement of the
4-27 average apartment or multiple use facility unit monthly bill for
5-1 all units for any allocation of water service costs <those
5-2 utilities> for the previous calendar year;
5-3 (3) an owner or condominium manager may not impose
5-4 additional charges on a tenant in excess of the actual charges
5-5 imposed on the owner or condominium manager for utility consumption
5-6 by the apartment complex <house> or multiple use facility;
5-7 (4) an owner or condominium manager may not impose
5-8 charges on a tenant for water service to common areas;
5-9 (5) <(4)> the owner or condominium manager shall
5-10 maintain adequate records regarding the water service <utility>
5-11 consumption of the apartment complex <house> or multiple use
5-12 facility, the charges assessed by the retail public utility, and
5-13 the allocation of the water service <utility> costs to the tenants;
5-14 and
5-15 (6) <(5)> the owner or condominium manager shall
5-16 maintain all necessary records concerning water service cost
5-17 <utility> allocations, including the retail public utility's bills,
5-18 and shall make the records available for inspection by the tenants
5-19 during normal business hours.
5-20 Sec. 13.5032. BILLING FOR SUBMETERED WATER SERVICE IN
5-21 CERTAIN APARTMENT COMPLEXES. (a) An owner of an apartment complex
5-22 that has submetered water service for dwelling units shall charge a
5-23 tenant for water service according to the actual consumption of the
5-24 tenant, as measured by the submeter serving the tenant's dwelling
5-25 unit.
5-26 (b) An owner of an apartment complex that has submetered
5-27 water service may not rent a dwelling unit in the complex at a
6-1 rental rate that includes water service.
6-2 (c) This section does not apply to an owner, operator, or
6-3 manager of a residential condominium.
6-4 Sec. 13.5033. BILLING FOR NONSUBMETERED WATER SERVICE IN
6-5 CERTAIN APARTMENT COMPLEXES. (a) An owner of an apartment complex
6-6 that has more than 30 dwelling units and that does not have
6-7 submetered water service may not rent a dwelling unit in the
6-8 complex at a rental rate that includes water service.
6-9 (b) An owner of an apartment complex that has more than 30
6-10 dwelling units and that does not have submetered water service
6-11 shall charge tenants of the complex for water service according to
6-12 a billing system approved by the commission that prorates water
6-13 service costs according to the number of bedrooms or bathrooms in a
6-14 dwelling unit, the number of occupants, the floor space of a
6-15 dwelling unit, or a similar method or combination of methods.
6-16 (c) The billing system must be designed to allow tenants to
6-17 benefit collectively by conserving water.
6-18 (d) The billing system may not provide a maximum or minimum
6-19 amount for water service and may not bill tenants for more or less
6-20 than the water service costs measured according to the apartment
6-21 complex's master meter.
6-22 (e) The billing system may not charge a tenant for water
6-23 service to a common area.
6-24 (f) This section does not apply to an owner, operator, or
6-25 manager of a residential condominium.
6-26 Sec. 13.504. Improper Rental Rate Increase. If, during the
6-27 90-day period preceding the installation of individual meters or
7-1 submeters, an owner, operator, or manager of an apartment complex
7-2 <house>, mobile home park or other multiple use facility has
7-3 increased rental rates and the increase is attributable to
7-4 increased costs of utilities, the owner, operator, or manager shall
7-5 immediately reduce the rental rate by the amount of the increase
7-6 and refund all of the increase that has previously been collected
7-7 within the 90-day period.
7-8 Sec. 13.505. Enforcement. In addition to the enforcement
7-9 provisions contained in Subchapter K of this chapter, if an
7-10 apartment complex <house> owner, condominium manager, mobile home
7-11 park owner, or other multiple use facility owner violates a rule of
7-12 the commission regarding submetering of utility service consumed
7-13 exclusively within the tenant's dwelling unit or multiple use
7-14 facility unit or nonsubmetered master metered utility costs, the
7-15 tenant may recover three times the amount of any overcharge, a
7-16 civil penalty equal to one month's rent, reasonable attorney's
7-17 fees, and court costs from the owner or condominium manager.
7-18 However, an owner of an apartment complex <house>, mobile home
7-19 park, or other multiple use facility or condominium manager is not
7-20 liable for a civil penalty if the owner or condominium manager
7-21 proves the violation was a good faith, unintentional mistake.
7-22 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 1995.
7-23 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
7-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.