Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Purpose. This section implements Texas
Utilities Code §
184.052.
(b) Definitions. The following words and
terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
Apartment house--One or more buildings containing two or more dwelling units
rented primarily for nontransient use with rent paid at intervals of one week
or longer.
(2) Apartment house
owner--The legal titleholder of an apartment house or an individual, firm, or
corporation purporting to be the landlord of tenants in the apartment
house.
(3) Central system
utilities--Electricity consumed by a central air conditioning system, central
heating system, central hot water system, or central chilled water system in an
apartment house. The term does not include utilities directly consumed by a
dwelling unit.
(4) Customer--The
individual, firm, or corporation in whose name a master meter is connected by a
utility or that is served by a retail electric provider.
(5) Dwelling unit--One or more rooms that are
suitable for occupancy as a residence and that contain kitchen and bathroom
facilities.
(6) Nonsubmetered
master metered utility service--Electric utility service that is master metered
for an apartment house but is not submetered.
(7) Utility--A public, private, or
member-owned utility furnishing electricity service to an apartment house
served by a master meter.
(c) Records and reports.
(1) The apartment house owner shall maintain
and make available for inspection by the tenant during normal business hours:
(A) the billing from the utility to the
apartment house owner for the current month and the 12 preceding months;
and
(B) the calculation of the
average cost per kilowatt-hour for the current month and the 12 preceding
months which was used in assessing tenant utility billings. The average cost
per kilowatt-hour shall be equal to the charges for the electric service plus
applicable tax, less any penalties charged by the utility or retail electric
provider to the apartment house owner for disconnect, and reconnect, late
payment or other similar service charges, divided by the total number of
billing units.
(2) All
records shall be made available to the commission upon request.
(3) Records shall be made available at the
resident manager's office during reasonable business hours or, if there is no
resident manager, at the dwelling unit of the tenant at the convenience of both
the apartment house owner and the tenant.
(d) Calculation of costs. Central system
utilities costs shall be calculated based on metered kilowatt-hour of the
central system during the same billing period as that of the utility. The
metered kilowatt-hour of the central system shall be multiplied by the average
cost per billing calculated according to all applicable industry standards. The
cost of nonsubmetered master metered utilities shall be the total charges for
electric service to the apartment house less any penalties charged by the
utility or the retail electric provider to the apartment house owner for
disconnect, reconnect, late payment or other similar service charges.
(e) Billing. All rental agreements between
the apartment house owner and the tenants shall provide a clear written
description of the method of the allocation of central system utilities or
non-submetered master metered utilities for the apartment house. The method of
allocation may be changed only after 90 days notice of the change to the
tenants. The rental agreement for each apartment unit shall contain a statement
of the average monthly bill for the previous calendar year for that apartment
unit. If there is no rental agreement, apartment house owners shall provide the
method of allocation in a separate written document.
(1) Rendering and form of bill.
(A) Bills shall be rendered for the same
billing period as that of the utility or retail electric provider, generally
monthly, unless service is rendered for less than that period.
(B) The allocation of central system
utilities costs or nonsubmetered master metered utilities costs to tenants
shall be based on one or a combination of the following methods.
(i) the total square footage living area of
the dwelling unit as a percentage of the total square footage living area of
all dwelling units of the apartment house and all heated and/or air-conditioned
common areas. This percentage shall be stated in the rental agreement for each
dwelling unit; and
(ii) the
individually metered or submetered utility usage of the dwelling unit as a
percentage of the sum of the individually metered or submetered usage of all
dwelling units.
(C)
Methods to allocate central system utility costs or nonsubmetered master
metered utilities to tenants, other than the method outlined in this section,
must be approved by the commission.
(D) Billings to the tenant shall not be
included as part of the rental payment or as part of billings for any other
service to the tenant. A separate billing must be issued or, if issued on a
multi-item bill, utility billing information must be separate and distinct from
any other charges on the bill. The bill may not include a deposit, late
penalty, reconnect charge, or any other charges unless otherwise provided for
by this chapter. A one-time penalty not to exceed 5.0% may be made on
delinquent accounts. If such penalty is applied, the bill shall indicate the
amount due if paid by the due date and the amount due if the late penalty is
incurred. No late penalty may be applied unless agreed to by the tenant in a
written lease which states the exact dollar or percentage amount of such late
penalty.
(E) An apartment house
owner may not impose additional charges on a tenant in excess of the actual
charges imposed on the apartment house owner for utility consumption by the
apartment house.
(2) Due
date. The due date of the bill shall not be less than seven days after
issuance. A bill for service is delinquent if not received by the party
indicated on the bill by the due date. The postmark date, if any, on the
envelope of the bill or on the bill itself shall constitute proof of the date
of issuance. An issuance date on the bill shall constitute proof of the date of
issuance if there is no postmark on the envelope or bill. If the due date falls
on a holiday or weekend, the due date for payment purposes shall be the next
workday after the due date.
(3)
Overbilling and underbilling. If billings are found to be in error, the
apartment house owner shall calculate a billing adjustment. If the tenant is
due a refund, an adjustment shall be made for the entire period of the
overcharges. If the tenant was undercharged, the apartment house owner may
backbill the tenant for the amount which was underbilled. The backbilling is
not to exceed six months unless the apartment house owner can produce records
to identify and justify the additional amount of backbilling. If the
underbilling is $25 or more, the apartment house owner shall offer to such
tenant a deferred payment plan option, for the same length of time as that of
the underbilling. Furthermore, adjustments for usage by a previous tenant may
not be backbilled to the current tenant.
(4) Discontinuance of electric service.
Disconnection of a dwelling unit by the apartment house owner is governed by
Texas Property Code §
92.008(b).
Disconnection of electric service by a retail electric provider is governed by
§
25.483(k) of
this title (relating to Disconnection of Service). Disconnection of service by
an electric utility that is not a transmission and distributed utility is
governed by §
25.29(j) of this
title (relating to Disconnection of Service).
(5) Disputed bills and complaints. In the
event of a dispute between the tenant and the apartment house owner regarding
any bill, the apartment house owner shall immediately make such investigation
as shall be required by the particular case, and report the results thereof to
the tenant. The investigation and report shall be completed within 30 days from
the date the tenant notified the apartment house owner of the dispute. If the
tenant is dissatisfied with the results of the investigation, the apartment
house owner shall inform the tenant of the Public Utility Commission of Texas
complaint process, giving the tenant the address and telephone number of the
commission's Office of Customer Protection.