Arizona utility billing for landlords: submeters or RUBS, actual costs only, and a lease that names the method
A.R.S. 33-1314.01 lets an Arizona landlord charge separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity, either with submeters or with a ratio utility billing system. The landlord may recover what the utility charged plus an administrative fee for actual administrative costs only, nothing more. The lease must list the services billed separately and state the fee, and a tenant already in place gets at least 90 days' notice.
Which utilities can an Arizona landlord bill back?
Subsection A names five services: gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal and electricity. For any of them the landlord may charge separately by installing a submetering system or by allocating the charges through a ratio utility billing system, which most people call RUBS. Arizona law treats the two as equal options. You do not need submeters to use RUBS.
What you may recover is capped in subsection B. It is the charge the utility provider imposed on you, plus an administrative fee for the landlord covering actual administrative costs only. The statute adds that the landlord shall not impose any additional charges. A flat "billing fee" that is higher than your real cost of producing the bills is the first thing a tenant's complaint would point to.
Which RUBS formulas does Arizona allow?
When you do not submeter, subsection F lists the allocation methods. You may use one or more of these:
- Per tenant.
- Proportionately by livable square footage.
- Per type of unit.
- Per number of water fixtures.
- For water and wastewater, an individually submetered hot water usage measure for the tenant's dwelling unit.
- Any other method that fairly allocates the charges and is described in the tenant's rental agreement.
Whichever you pick, subsection G requires the rental agreement to contain a specific description of the method. "Costs split fairly" is not a description. "Water and sewer are split by each unit's share of total livable square footage" is.
Example a made-up fourplex in Mesa has a $480.00 water and sewer bill for the month. The lease splits it by livable square footage. The units measure 700, 700, 900 and 1,000 square feet, 3,300 in all. The charges are $101.82, $101.82, $130.91 and $145.45, which add up to $480.00. The landlord's administrative fee, if the lease sets one, is shown as its own line.
What must the lease say, and can you add billing mid-lease?
Subsection B requires the rental agreement to carry a disclosure that lists the utility services charged separately and states the amount of any administrative fee tied to submetering or RUBS. Subsection G adds the description of the RUBS method.
Subsection C covers a tenant who is already in place. If the rental agreement provides for it, the landlord may impose a submetering or RUBS system during the term, after giving the notice described in subsection G: at least 90 days' notice before the landlord begins using submetering or allocating costs. A lease that says nothing about separate billing is not a basis for starting it mid-term.
What must each bill show?
For landlords using an allocation or submetering system, subsection E sets the bill format for each billing period. It must separately state the cost of the charges for the period together with the opening and closing meter readings and the dates of those readings, and it must show the amount of any administrative fee charged. The text sets no fixed day count for how often you bill. It speaks of each billing period, so match your billing to the utility's cycle and say so in the lease.
How does a tenant dispute a utility charge?
Subsection D sets an order. A tenant who believes the landlord is out of compliance with subsection B must first object in writing to the landlord about the utility billing. If the dispute is not resolved, the tenant may file a civil complaint in justice court to enforce the section. So a written objection is both the tenant's first step and your cue to pull the utility bill, the formula and the arithmetic and answer in writing.
Subsection H also protects landlords from one side effect. The state environmental department may not use an apartment community's submetering or RUBS, by itself, as the sole basis for regulating it as a public or consecutive water system.
How DoorKeeping fits in Arizona
DoorKeeping keeps each Arizona utility bill, your split worksheet and the lease clause together in the unit's documents, and records what each tenant reimburses in the property's own books. The lease clause naming your method and fee sits beside each month's bill, so a tenant's written objection can be answered from one folder. Anything involving money waits for your one-tap approval. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute, any utility commission rule and your lease before you bill a tenant.
Sources
Questions
- Can an Arizona landlord use RUBS instead of submeters?
- Yes. A.R.S. 33-1314.01 allows charging separately through a submetering system or through a ratio utility billing system, and lists the allocation methods.
- Can an Arizona landlord add an administrative fee to utility bills?
- Only for actual administrative costs, and the lease must state the amount of any fee. The landlord may not impose additional charges.
- How much notice does an Arizona tenant get before RUBS starts mid-lease?
- At least 90 days, and only if the rental agreement provides for it.