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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the authority and liability of owners and managers of |
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apartment houses, manufactured home rental communities, |
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condominiums, and multiple use facilities in charging tenants for |
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submetered and nonsubmetered master metered water and wastewater |
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services. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 13.501, Water Code, is amended by |
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amending Subdivision (5) and adding Subdivision (9) to read as |
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follows: |
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(5) "Owner" means the legal titleholder of an |
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apartment house, manufactured home rental community, or multiple |
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use facility and any individual, firm, or corporation expressly |
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identified in a lease agreement as [that purports to be] the |
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landlord of tenants in the apartment house, manufactured home |
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rental community, or multiple use facility. |
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(9) "Utility costs" or "utility service costs" means |
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any amount charged to the owner by a retail public utility for water |
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or wastewater service. |
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SECTION 2. Section 13.503, Water Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (f) to read as follows: |
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(f) This section does not limit the authority of an owner, |
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operator, or manager of an apartment house, manufactured home |
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rental community, or multiple use facility to charge, bill for, or |
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collect rent, an assessment, an administrative fee, or any other |
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amount that is unrelated to utility costs. |
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SECTION 3. Section 13.5031, Water Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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Sec. 13.5031. NONSUBMETERING RULES. (a) Notwithstanding |
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any other law, the utility commission shall adopt rules and |
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standards governing billing systems or methods used by manufactured |
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home rental community owners, apartment house owners, condominium |
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managers, or owners of other multiple use facilities for prorating |
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or allocating among tenants nonsubmetered master metered utility |
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service costs. In addition to other appropriate safeguards for the |
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tenant, those rules shall require that: |
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(1) the rental agreement contain a clear written |
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description of the method of calculation of the allocation of |
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nonsubmetered master metered utilities for the manufactured home |
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rental community, apartment house, or multiple use facility; |
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(2) the rental agreement contain a statement of the |
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average manufactured home, apartment, or multiple use facility unit |
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monthly bill for all units for any allocation of those utilities for |
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the previous calendar year; |
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(3) except as provided by this section, an owner or |
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condominium manager may not impose additional charges on a tenant |
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in excess of the actual charges imposed on the owner or condominium |
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manager for utility consumption by the manufactured home rental |
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community, apartment house, or multiple use facility; |
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(4) the owner or condominium manager shall maintain |
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adequate records regarding the utility consumption of the |
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manufactured home rental community, apartment house, or multiple |
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use facility, the charges assessed by the retail public utility, |
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and the allocation of the utility costs to the tenants; |
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(5) the owner or condominium manager shall maintain |
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all necessary records concerning utility allocations, including |
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the retail public utility's bills, and shall make the records |
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available for inspection by the tenants during normal business |
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hours; and |
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(6) the owner or condominium manager may charge a |
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tenant a fee for late payment of an allocated water bill if the |
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amount of the fee does not exceed five percent of the bill paid |
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late. |
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(b) This section does not limit the authority of an owner, |
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operator, or manager of an apartment house, manufactured home |
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rental community, or multiple use facility to charge, bill for, or |
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collect rent, an assessment, an administrative fee, or any other |
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amount that is unrelated to utility costs. |
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SECTION 4. Section 13.505, Water Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 13.505. ENFORCEMENT. (a) In this section, |
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"overcharge" means the amount, if any, a tenant is charged for |
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submetered or nonsubmetered master metered utility service to the |
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tenant's dwelling unit after a violation occurred relating to the |
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assessment of a portion of utility costs in excess of the amount the |
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tenant would have been charged under this subchapter. |
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(b) If [In addition to the enforcement provisions contained
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in Subchapter K, if] an apartment house owner, condominium manager, |
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manufactured home rental community owner, or other multiple use |
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facility owner violates a rule of the utility commission regarding |
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utility costs, the person claiming the violation may file a |
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complaint with the utility commission. If the utility commission |
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determines that the owner or condominium manager overcharged a |
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complaining tenant for water or wastewater service from the retail |
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public utility, the utility commission shall require the owner or |
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condominium manager, as applicable, to repay the complaining tenant |
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the amount overcharged. |
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(c) If the owner or condominium manager fails to comply with |
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the utility commission's order to repay the overcharge, the |
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complaining tenant may recover from the owner or condominium |
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manager in an action brought under this section [submetering of
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utility service consumed exclusively within the tenant's dwelling
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unit or multiple use facility unit or nonsubmetered master metered
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utility costs, the tenant may recover] three times the amount of the |
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[any] overcharge, a civil penalty of $100 [equal to one month's
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rent], reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs from the owner |
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or condominium manager. However, an owner of an apartment house, |
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manufactured home rental community, or other multiple use facility |
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or condominium manager is not liable [for a civil penalty] if the |
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owner or condominium manager proves the violation was a good faith, |
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unintentional mistake. |
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(d) A tenant must exhaust administrative remedies before |
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the tenant brings an action in district court against an apartment |
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house owner, condominium manager, manufactured home rental |
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community owner, or other multiple use facility owner who violates |
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a requirement of this subchapter or a rule of the utility commission |
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adopted under this subchapter. |
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SECTION 5. Section 13.506, Water Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
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(d) There is a rebuttable presumption that an owner of an |
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apartment house or a multiple use facility or a manager of a |
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condominium that adopted an existing program to submeter or |
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allocate water from a previous owner or manager has not committed an |
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act giving rise to a cause of action under this section. |
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SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |