Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a)
Purpose and scope. The provisions of this subchapter are intended to establish
a comprehensive regulatory system to assure that the practices involving
submetered and allocated billing of dwelling units and multiple use facilities
for water and sewer utility service are just and reasonable and include
appropriate safeguards for tenants.
(b) Application. The provisions of this
subchapter apply to apartment houses, condominiums, multiple use facilities,
and manufactured home rental communities billing for water and wastewater
utility service on a submetered or allocated basis. The provisions of this
subchapter do not limit the authority of an owner, operator, or manager of an
apartment house, manufactured home rental community, or multiple use facility
to charge, bill for, or collect rent, an assessment, an administrative fee, a
fee relating to upkeep or management of chilled water, boiler, heating,
ventilation, air conditioning, or other building system, or any other amount
that is unrelated to water and sewer utility service costs.
(c) Definitions. The following words and
terms, when used in this subchapter, have the defined meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
Allocated utility service--Water or wastewater utility service that is master
metered to an owner by a retail public utility and allocated to tenants by the
owner.
(2) Apartment house--A
building or buildings containing five or more dwelling units that are occupied
primarily for nontransient use, including a residential condominium whether
rented or owner occupied, and if a dwelling unit is rented, having rent paid at
intervals of one month or more.
(3)
Condominium manager--A condominium unit owners' association organized under
Texas Property Code §
82.101, or an
incorporated or unincorporated entity comprising the council of owners under
Chapter 81, Property Code. Condominium Manager and Manager of a Condominium
have the same meaning.
(4) Customer
service charge--A customer service charge is a rate that is not dependent on
the amount of water used through the master meter.
(5) Dwelling unit--One or more rooms in an
apartment house or condominium, suitable for occupancy as a residence, and
containing kitchen and bathroom facilities; a unit in a multiple use facility;
or a manufactured home in a manufactured home rental community.
(6) Dwelling unit base charge--A flat rate or
fee charged by a retail public utility for each dwelling unit recorded by the
retail public utility.
(7)
Manufactured home rental community--A property on which spaces are rented for
the occupancy of manufactured homes for nontransient residential use and for
which rental is paid at intervals of one month or longer.
(8) Master meter--A meter used to measure,
for billing purposes, all water usage of an apartment house, condominium,
multiple use facility, or manufactured home rental community, including common
areas, common facilities, and dwelling units.
(9) Multiple use facility--A commercial or
industrial park, office complex, or marina with five or more units that are
occupied primarily for nontransient use and are rented at intervals of one
month or longer.
(10) Occupant--A
tenant or other person authorized under a written agreement to occupy a
dwelling.
(11) Overcharge--The
amount, if any, a tenant is charged for submetered or nonsubmetered master
metered utility service to the tenant's dwelling unit after a violation
occurred relating to the assessment of a portion of utility costs in excess of
the amount the tenant would have been charged under this subchapter. Overcharge
and Overbilling have the same meaning.
(12) Owner--The legal titleholder of an
apartment house, a manufactured home rental community, or a multiple use
facility; and any individual, firm, or corporation expressly identified in the
lease agreement as the landlord of tenants in the apartment house, manufactured
home rental community, or multiple use facility. The term does not include the
manager of an apartment home unless the manager is expressly identified as the
landlord in the lease agreement.
(13) Point-of-use submeter--A device located
in a plumbing system to measure the amount of water used at a specific point of
use, fixture, or appliance, including a sink, toilet, bathtub, or clothes
washer.
(14) Submetered utility
service--Water utility service that is master metered for the owner by the
retail public utility and individually metered by the owner at each dwelling
unit; wastewater utility service based on submetered water utility service;
water utility service measured by point-of-use submeters when all of the water
used in a dwelling unit is measured and totaled; or wastewater utility service
based on total water use as measured by point-of-use submeters.
(15) Tenant--A person who owns or is entitled
to occupy a dwelling unit or multiple use facility unit to the exclusion of
others and, if rent is paid, who is obligated to pay for the occupancy under a
written or oral rental agreement.
(16) Undercharge--The amount, if any, a
tenant is charged for submetered or nonsubmetered master metered utility
service to the tenant's dwelling unit less than the amount the tenant would
have been charged under this subchapter. Undercharge and Underbilling have the
same meaning.
(17) Utility
costs--Any amount charged to the owner by a retail public utility for water or
wastewater service. Utility Costs and Utility Service Costs have the same
meaning.
(18) Utility service--For
purposes of this subchapter, utility service includes only drinking water and
wastewater.
