questions & answers

Question: The apartments i am living in currently are using a third party billing system for water, sewer and trash based out of Utah. I receive a bill each month that is steadily getting higher, while I am the only person living in the apartment. Is this legal?

Answer: As a general rule, so long as a particular billing system was known to the tenant in advance, by being identified in the lease before the tenant signed it, then the use of that system will not violate the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA). However, the billing system still must meet certain requirements. This is what the ARLTA says about utility charges and billing (at A.R.S. 33-1314.01): 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. [...]