TITLE 170 INDIANA UTILITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Final Rule
LSA Document #09-790(F)
DIGEST
Adds
170 IAC 15 to establish sub-billing procedures for the provision of water or sewage disposal service. Effective 30 days after filing with the Publisher.
SECTION 1.
170 IAC 15 IS ADDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
ARTICLE 15. LANDLORD DISTRIBUTING WATER OR SEWAGE DISPOSAL SERVICE
Rule 1. Definitions
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-1; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 2. "Dwelling unit" means a room or rooms suitable for residential occupancy containing water or sewage disposal service plumbing, or a mobile home park lot or similar multi-user installation, excluding hotels, motels, or other similar transient lodging.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-2; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
170 IAC 15-1-3 "Initial set-up fee" defined
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 3. "Initial set-up fee" means the fee a landlord charges a tenant to establish a new account for a dwelling unit, not to exceed the landlord's actual administrative cost.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-3; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
170 IAC 15-1-4 "Insufficient funds fee" defined
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 4. "Insufficient funds fee" means the fee a landlord charges a tenant to process insufficient funds of a payment, not to exceed any actual fee assessed to the landlord by a financial institution resulting from insufficient funds of an instrument received from the tenant in payment of charges for water or sewage disposal service.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-4; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 5. "Landlord" means the owner of a dwelling unit that is rented or leased to an individual, or a person acting on a landlord's behalf.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-5; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 6. (a) For water service, "landlord's usage" means any water consumed by the landlord for personal use, business use, any water consumed in common areas, including, but not limited to, water used in a club house, laundry facility, bath house, community restroom, swimming pool, hot tub, irrigation sprinkler system, or fire protection sprinkler system or for grounds keeping, flushing the mains, or any other common purpose. The term shall also include any water lost to water leaks in common areas.
(b) For sewage disposal service, "landlord's usage" means any sewage disposal service resulting from the landlord for personal use, business use, any sewage disposal service resulting from common areas, including, but not limited to, a club house, laundry facility, bath house, swimming pool, hot tub, or community restrooms or any other common purpose.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-6; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 7. "Master meter" means the use of a meter device to measure, for billing purposes, the amount of water consumed by a landlord who distributes the water to tenants.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-7; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 8. "Sub-bill" means a landlord's request of payment from a tenant for the distribution of water or sewage disposal service, which service is provided to the landlord by a public utility or municipally owned utility. The term does not include instances in which a lease agreement clearly indicates that water or sewage disposal, or both, service is included in a lease payment that is assessed at regular intervals and does not vary throughout the lease period based on the amount of water or sewage disposal, or both, usage.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-8; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 9. "Sub-meter" means the use of a meter device to measure the amount of water consumed within an individual dwelling unit for the purpose of sub-billing. The term also refers to the meter used to measure the amount of water provided to individual dwelling units.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-9; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 10. "Tenant" means any occupant of a dwelling unit that is provided water or sewage disposal service distributed by a landlord.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-10; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
170 IAC 15-1-11 "Total net charge for sewage disposal service" defined
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 11. "Total net charge for sewage disposal service" means the charge the sewage disposal service utility imposes on the landlord for sewage disposal service for a given billing period inclusive of applicable taxes but exclusive of late fees and other incidental or extraordinary fees and charges.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-11; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
170 IAC 15-1-12 "Total net charge for water service" defined
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 12. "Total net charge for water service" means the charge the water utility imposes on the landlord for water service for a given billing period inclusive of applicable taxes but exclusive of late fees and other incidental or extraordinary fees and charges.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-12; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 13. "Utility" means the public or municipally owned utility that provides water or sewage disposal service to the landlord for distribution to dwelling unit.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-1-13; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Rule 2. Sub-Billing
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 1. The landlord shall:
(1) retain all bills received from the utility and all sub-bills from the landlord to tenants for a period of not less than one (1) year;
(2) make all such bills and sub-bills available for inspection by any tenant, or person who was a tenant during the billing period in question, during regular business hours; and
(3) provide a copy of records under this section within three (3) business days of request by a tenant.
The landlord may charge tenant a nominal fee to recover the cost of copying records.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-2-1; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 2. (a) A tenant's sub-bill shall be calculated in the following manner:
(1) For water service, as follows:
(A) If the utility charges the landlord for usage measured by a master meter, upon receipt of a utility's water bill, the landlord shall divide the total net charges for water service, plus applicable tax, by the total amount of water master metered to obtain an average cost per unit volume. The average water cost per unit volume shall then be multiplied by the estimated or actual unit volume consumed by each dwelling unit. In no event shall a landlord charge its tenants more than the total net charge for water service.
(B) If the utility charges the landlord for usage that is not measured by a master meter, the landlord shall employ an appropriate method to determine what portion of the total net charge for water service should be attributed to each tenant. "An appropriate method" means a method that reasonably allocates to each tenant a portion of the total net charge for water service less the landlord's own use. Reasonable allocations may be based on a charge per dwelling unit, actual volume of water distributed to each tenant, or estimated volume of water distributed to each tenant. In no event shall the landlord charge its tenants in total more than the total net charge for water service.
(2) For sewage disposal service, the landlord shall employ an appropriate method to determine what portion of the total net charge for sewage disposal service should be attributed to each tenant.
(A) If the utility charges a flat sewage disposal service rate, "an appropriate method" means a method that reasonably allocates to each tenant a portion of the total net charge for sewage disposal service less the landlord's own use. Reasonable allocations may be based on a charge per dwelling unit or a charge based on estimated sewer flow.
(B) If the utility charges a sewage disposal service rate based on water usage, "an appropriate method" means a method that reasonably allocates to each tenant a portion of the total net charge for sewage disposal service less the landlord's own use. Reasonable allocations may use the same percentage for sewage disposal service as calculated for water billing, using the actual volume of water distributed to each tenant or estimated volume of water distributed to each tenant. In no event shall the landlord charge its tenants in total more than the total net charge either for water or sewage disposal service.
(b) A landlord may not charge a tenant for any water or sewage disposal service reasonably attributed to the landlord's usage.
(c) In addition to the charges in subsection (a), a landlord may charge a tenant only the fees permitted by IC 8-1-2-1.2.
(d) A landlord satisfies the provisions in subsections (a) through (c) and the provisions of IC 8-1-2-1.2 if the landlord charges a flat rental fee, assessed at regular intervals, such as monthly or annually, that includes water and sewage disposal service, provided the following:
(1) The lease clearly indicates that water or sewage disposal, or both, service are included in the lease.
(2) The rent amount does not vary throughout the lease period based on water or sewage disposal usage.
(e) Nothing herein should be construed to eliminate or diminish any contractual right a tenant may have with respect to the provision of water or sewage disposal service.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-2-2; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 3. (a) The landlord shall:
(1) render sub-bills to tenants with the same frequency that bills are rendered to the landlord by the utility; and
(2) sub-bill tenants for the same period for which the landlord has been billed by the utility.
(b) The landlord sub-bills tenant separately from rent.
(c) Sub-bills that are rendered to the tenant shall show at least the following information:
(1) The sub-billing date.
(2) The sub-billing rate charged.
(3) The previous balance, if any.
(4) The amount of the sub-bill.
(5) The amount of an initial setup fee, if due.
(6) A reasonable administrative fee, if any, not to exceed the statutory limit.
(7) The amount of any insufficient funds fee, if due.
(8) The date on which the sub-bill is due.
(9) If an estimated sub-bill, a clear and conspicuous coding or other indication identifying the sub-bill as an estimated sub-bill.
(10) An explanation, which can be readily understood, of all codes or symbols, or both, shown on the sub-bill.
(11) The name and telephone number of a person for tenants to contact about sub-billing matters.
(12) The following statement, "If you believe you are being charged in violation of IC 8-1-2-1.2, you have a right to file a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission at (800) 851-4268 or www.in.gov/iurc.".
(13) In addition, water sub-bills shall include the following:
(A) If tenant's usage is sub-metered, the dates and meter readings of tenant's sub-meter at the beginning and end of the period for which the sub-bill is rendered.
(B) The name and telephone number of a person for tenants to contact about water service matters.
(14) In addition, sewage disposal service sub-bills shall include the following:
(A) The beginning and end dates of the period for which the sub-bill is rendered.
(B) The name and telephone number of a person for tenants to contact about sewage disposal service matters.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-2-3; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 4. A landlord shall provide written notice to tenants pursuant to the disclosure requirements in IC 8-1-2-1.2(b)(3).
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-2-4; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Rule 3. Complaints
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3,
IC 8-1-2-34.5
Sec. 1. A tenant may file a complaint against the landlord with the commission's consumer affairs division under IC 8-1-2-34.5 for violations of this rule by following the commission's informal complaint procedures found at 170 IAC 1-1.1-5.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-3-1; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
170 IAC 15-3-2 Information required to investigate a complaint
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 2. Upon the receipt of a complaint that a landlord may be acting as a public utility in violation of IC 8-1-2-1.2, the commission shall require the complainant to provide the factual basis for the complaint and the commission shall require the landlord or the landlord's agent to provide the complainant and the commission with sufficient information to investigate the complaint, including, but not limited to, the following information:
(1) For the dates in dispute, each sub-bill rendered to the tenant for water or sewage disposal service, including a statement indicating the period for which each sub-bill was rendered.
(2) If an estimated sub-bill, a clear and conspicuous coding or other indication identifying the sub-bill as an estimated sub-bill.
(3) If a tenant's water usage is not sub-metered, the following:
(A) A verified statement by the landlord that contains the amount due the utility by the landlord for all amounts consumed at the property for the dates in dispute.
(B) The dates and meter readings of the master meter at the beginning and end of the period for which each sub-bill in dispute was rendered.
(C) The actual or estimated amount that is attributed to landlord's usage.
(D) An explanation of how the landlord calculated the charges to the tenant for water service.
(4) If a tenant's water usage is sub-metered, the dates and meter readings of tenant's sub-meter at the beginning and end of the period for which the bill is rendered.
(5) For sewage disposal service, the following:
(A) A verified statement by the landlord that contains the amount due the utility by the landlord for all amounts collected at the property for the dates in dispute.
(B) The beginning and end dates of the period for which each sub-bill in dispute was rendered.
(C) The actual or estimated amount that is attributed to landlord's usage.
(D) An explanation of how the landlord calculated the charges to the tenant for sewage disposal service.
(6) The sub-billing rate charged.
(7) The previous balance, if any.
(8) The amount of any initial setup fee charged.
(9) The amount of any administrative fee charged.
(10) The amount of any insufficient funds fee charged.
(11) The amount and description of any other fee charged.
(12) The date on which the sub-bill is due.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-3-2; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Authority:
IC 8-1-1-3
Sec. 3. If, after review of the information provided under this rule, the commission's consumer affairs division determines that the landlord has failed to comply with the requirements of IC 8-1-2-1.2 or this rule, the commission shall require the landlord to refund any overcharges to the known date of error or for a period of one (1) year, whichever is less, and adjust its sub-billing practices prospectively.
(Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 15-3-3; filed Mar 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA)
Hearing Held: January 5, 2010
Approved by Attorney General: March 24, 2010
Approved by Governor: March 31, 2010
Filed with Publisher: March 31, 2010, 3:18 p.m.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None Received by Publisher
Small Business Regulatory Coordinator: DeAnna L. Brunner, Assistant General Counsel, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, 101 West Washington Street, Suite 1500 East, Indianapolis, IN 46204, (317) 232-6735, debrunner@urc.in.gov
Posted: 04/28/2010 by Legislative Services Agency
DIN: 20100428-IR-170090790FRA
Composed: Apr 28,2024 5:12:51AM EDT
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