Massachusetts water billing for landlords: licensed submeters, a certification, low-flow fixtures and no added fees
Massachusetts lets a landlord charge a tenant separately for water only under G.L. c.186 section 22. Each unit needs a submeter installed by a licensed plumber, the landlord must certify compliance to the local board of health, and the tenant must have signed a written lease that discloses the arrangement. The landlord may not add any servicing, administrative or billing fee, and may not shut off water for unpaid water charges.
What does the Massachusetts statute cover?
Section 22 is about water. It also says that its water-charge rules apply to sewer service charges calculated by the same primary meter or submeter. It does not cover gas or electricity, and the section describes charging through submeters, or through a water company meter that serves only the one unit. I did not find any provision for dividing a building's bill by formula, so a ratio method is not something the text authorizes.
The landlord remains the customer of record with the water company, stays responsible for paying the water company bill and is not treated as a water company by billing tenants.
What must be in place before you can bill?
- A submeter for each dwelling unit and for the common areas, installed by a plumber licensed in the commonwealth at the landlord's expense, meeting American Water Works Association or similar accuracy and testing standards.
- Fully functional water conservation devices on every faucet, showerhead and toilet in the unit: a showerhead not over 2.5 gallons a minute, faucets not over 2.2, and toilets not over 1.6 gallons a flush.
- A certification, under penalty of perjury, to the board of health or the agency that enforces the state sanitary code, stating that the unit is eligible, that the devices are installed and that the submeter was installed by a licensed plumber.
- A written lease, signed by the tenant, that clearly and conspicuously provides for the separate charge and explains the submetering and billing arrangement in plain language.
The submeter must measure only water supplied for the exclusive use of that unit. It may not measure any common area or another unit.
Which tenancies are eligible?
A unit becomes eligible only when a new tenancy begins and only if the unit is occupied for the first time, or the last tenant left voluntarily or was evicted for nonpayment or a lease breach. A unit is not eligible if the new tenant moved involuntarily from another unit in the same building or complex. Once a tenant has been charged properly, the unit stays eligible for later tenancies. You cannot switch on water billing for a tenant who is already living there under a lease that did not include it.
How do you calculate and send the bill?
The unit price is the water company's total bill, including the customer service charge and taxes but not late interest or penalties, divided by the total consumption measured at the building's primary meter. A unit's charge may not exceed that price times the units delivered to it, and you must verify that all submeters, including common areas, do not total more than the primary meter.
Each bill must show the current and prior readings and their dates, the amount consumed, the charge per unit, the total and the due date. You bill in at least as many periods as the water company bills you, or monthly if the lease says so. A monthly bill is due 15 days after mailing, and a bill for a longer period is due 30 days after mailing.
Example a made-up Worcester triple-decker has a $300.00 water bill, taxes and customer charge included, for 1,000 units of water on the primary meter. The unit price is $0.30. A unit whose submeter shows 120 units is billed $36.00. The common area submeter and all unit submeters must not total more than 1,000 units.
What can you not charge, and what protects the tenant?
- No additional servicing, administrative, establishment, meter-reading, meter-testing, billing or submetering fee, however named.
- No water shutoff to a tenant for not paying a submetered charge.
- At move-in, mail the opening reading on day one. At move-out, give the closing reading and a final bill, immediately due; an unpaid final bill may come out of the security deposit.
- Leaks: when a leak is repaired, reduce the bill by the water the leak caused, with a limit for leaks the tenant knew about.
The tenant may ask for an independent test of the submeter within the time allowed to pay the bill. If the meter reads high, the landlord installs a new one, pays for the test and credits the overcharge. If the meter is accurate, the tenant pays for the test. Unpaid water charges are a material breach of the lease that can be cured by paying in full before a court hearing.
How DoorKeeping fits in Massachusetts
DoorKeeping keeps each Massachusetts 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 plumber's certificate, the board of health filing and each unit's readings can live in the unit's documents. 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 a Massachusetts landlord charge tenants for water?
- Yes, but only under G.L. c.186 section 22: licensed submeters, a certification, water conservation devices, a written lease and eligible tenancies.
- Can a Massachusetts landlord add a billing fee to the water bill?
- No. The statute bars any servicing, administrative, establishment, meter-reading, meter-testing, billing or submetering fee.
- Can a Massachusetts landlord shut off water for an unpaid submetered bill?
- No. The landlord may not shut off or refuse water service because a tenant has not paid a separately assessed submetered charge.