Bill Text: CA AB1983 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Water meters: multiunit structures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-30 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1983 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1983-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1983 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gray
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to add Chapter 2.4 (commencing with Section 1954.12) to
Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to
residential units.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1983, as introduced, Gray. Water meters: multiunit structures.
The Water Measurement Law requires every water purveyor to
require, as a condition of new water service on and after January 1,
1992, the installation of a water meter to measure water service.
That law also requires urban water suppliers to install water meters
on specified service connections, and to charge water users based on
the actual volume of deliveries as measured by those water meters in
accordance with a certain timetable.
Existing law generally regulates the hiring of dwelling units, and
among other things, imposes certain requirements on landlords and
tenants. Among these requirements, existing law requires landlords to
provide tenants with certain notices or disclosures pertaining to,
among other things, pest control and gas meters. On or before January
1, 2019, existing law requires all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in
any multifamily residential real property, as defined, to be
replaced with water-conserving plumbing fixtures.
This bill would authorize the owner or operator of a building
containing residential units to install equipment to determine or use
an economic allocation methodology to approximate the quantity of
water that is provided to the tenants and used in the common areas of
that building. The bill would also authorize the owner or operator
of a building to charge tenants separately for water and wastewater
service based on usage as determined through the use of that
equipment or allocation methodology if certain requirements are met,
including that the owner or operator disclose certain information to
the tenants as part of any contractual leasing agreement.
The bill would require all new multiunit residential buildings
permitted on or after January 1, 2015, to be constructed in a manner
to permit measurement by a county, municipal, or other public water
system or the owner or operator of water use by each unit and to have
installed separate submeters for each unit. The bill would require
an owner or operator of a building subject to that construction
requirement to seek reimbursement for water usage by the units based
on a specified economic allocation methodology.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2.4 (commencing with Section 1954.12) is added
to Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, to read:
CHAPTER 2.4. TENANT WATER USAGE
1954.12. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), the
owner or operator of a building containing residential units may
install equipment to determine or use an economic allocation
methodology to approximate the quantity of water that is provided to
the tenants and used in the common areas of that building, and the
owner of that building may charge tenants separately for water and
wastewater service based on usage as determined through the use of
such equipment or allocation methodology.
(b) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), the owner
or operator of a building containing residential units may charge
tenants separately for water and wastewater service, provided that
the total amount of the charges to the tenants for water and
wastewater service shall not exceed the total charges and fees paid
by the owner or operator to the utility company or municipality
providing the water and wastewater service plus actual fees paid to a
third-party billing service provider for establishing, servicing,
processing payments, and billing such tenants.
(2) The third-party service provider fees and the submetering
methodology or economic allocation methodology shall be disclosed to
the tenants as part of any contractual leasing agreement.
(c) All new multiunit residential buildings permitted on or after
January 1, 2015, shall be constructed in a manner that will permit
the measurement by a county, municipal, or other public water system
or by the owner or operator of water use by each unit and separate
submeters shall be installed for each individual leased, rented, or
other tenant space within each multifamily residential building.
(1) This subdivision shall not apply to any building constructed
or permitted prior to January 1, 2015, which is thereafter: (A)
renovated or (B) following a casualty or condemnation, renovated or
rebuilt.
(2) Subdivision (c) shall not apply to any construction of a
building, the permit for which was granted prior to January 1, 2015.
(d) (1) The owner or operator of a building subject to subdivision
(c) shall seek reimbursement for water and wastewater usage by the
units through an economic allocation methodology which is based on
the measured quantity of water used by each unit.
(2) The owner or operator of that building which includes common
areas for the benefit of the units may also seek reimbursement for
common area water and wastewater use through an economic allocation
which approximates the portion of the common area water and
wastewater services allocable to each unit.
(3) (A) The total amount of charges to the units under paragraphs
(1) and (2) for water and wastewater shall not exceed the total
charges and fees paid by the owner or operator to the utility company
or municipality providing the water and wastewater service for the
multiunit residential building, plus actual fees paid to a
third-party billing service provider for establishing, servicing,
processing payments, and billing tenants.
(B) The third-party service provider fees and the economic
allocation methodology shall be disclosed to the tenants as part of
any contractual leasing agreement.
(4) If a tenant notifies the owner or operator of a building
subject to this subdivision, or the owner or operator otherwise
becomes aware, of a condition that indicates a submeter reading
indicating abnormally high water usage of more than 150 percent of
that unit's volumetric usage of the last three months, the owner or
operator of the building shall investigate, and if warranted, rectify
the condition within 60 days and shall not charge the tenant more
than 80 percent billed for volumetric usage of the last three months
for which complete billing information is available. The owner or
operator shall disclose the adjustment on the bill.
(5) If a monthly submeter reading necessary to measure volumetric
usage is unavailable for any reason, the owner or operator of a
building subject to this subdivision may bill the tenant 80 percent
of the average amount billed for volumetric usage for the last three
months for which complete billing information is available, and may
estimate for a period of up to three months while the submeter is
being repaired. The landlord shall disclose the adjustment on the
bill. If, after the three-month repair period, the submeter has not
been repaired, the owner or operator of the building shall not bill
the tenant until such repair is completed.
(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subdivision (b) or
(d), the water and wastewater charges for the last billing period of
a tenant's occupancy in a unit may be estimated by calculating the
average of at least three months of charges for the water and
wastewater allocated to the unit, and then prorating the average by
dividing that average by the number of days in the billing period,
and then multiplying that per diem charge by the number of days the
tenant had possession of that unit since the last billing period
ended, provided, that where available the owner or operator of the
building shall use the actual submeter reading for the last month's
billing period.
(f) A county, municipal, or other public water system shall be
prohibited from charging any fee or levy for the installation or use
of privately owned meters or other devices which measure or assist in
the measurement of water use under subdivision (c).
(g) Nothing in this section shall affect any local ordinances with
stricter provisions than those set forth in this section if that
ordinance was adopted prior to January 1, 2014.
