85R8636 GRM-F     By: Creighton S.B. No. 873       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the authority and liability of owners and managers of   apartment houses, manufactured home rental communities,   condominiums, and multiple use facilities in charging tenants for   submetered and nonsubmetered master metered water and wastewater   services.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 13.501, Water Code, is amended by   amending Subdivision (5) and adding Subdivision (9) to read as   follows:                (5)  "Owner" means the legal titleholder of an   apartment house, manufactured home rental community, or multiple   use facility and any individual, firm, or corporation expressly   identified in a lease agreement as [that purports to be] the   landlord of tenants in the apartment house, manufactured home   rental community, or multiple use facility.                (9)  "Utility costs" or "utility service costs" means   any amount charged to the owner by a retail public utility for water   or wastewater service.          SECTION 2.  Section 13.503, Water Code, is amended by adding   Subsection (f) to read as follows:          (f)  This section does 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, or any other   amount that is unrelated to utility costs.          SECTION 3.  Section 13.5031, Water Code, is amended to read   as follows:          Sec. 13.5031.  NONSUBMETERING RULES.  (a) Notwithstanding   any other law, the utility commission shall adopt rules and   standards governing billing systems or methods used by manufactured   home rental community owners, apartment house owners, condominium   managers, or owners of other multiple use facilities for prorating   or allocating among tenants nonsubmetered master metered utility   service costs. In addition to other appropriate safeguards for the   tenant, those rules shall require that:                (1)  the rental agreement contain a clear written   description of the method of calculation of the allocation of   nonsubmetered master metered utilities for the manufactured home   rental community, apartment house, or multiple use facility;                (2)  the rental agreement contain a statement of the   average manufactured home, apartment, or multiple use facility unit   monthly bill for all units for any allocation of those utilities for   the previous calendar year;                (3)  except as provided by this section, an owner or   condominium manager may not impose additional charges on a tenant   in excess of the actual charges imposed on the owner or condominium   manager for utility consumption by the manufactured home rental   community, apartment house, or multiple use facility;                (4)  the owner or condominium manager shall maintain   adequate records regarding the utility consumption of the   manufactured home rental community, apartment house, or multiple   use facility, the charges assessed by the retail public utility,   and the allocation of the utility costs to the tenants;                (5)  the owner or condominium manager shall maintain   all necessary records concerning utility allocations, including   the retail public utility's bills, and shall make the records   available for inspection by the tenants during normal business   hours; and                (6)  the owner or condominium manager may charge a   tenant a fee for late payment of an allocated water bill if the   amount of the fee does not exceed five percent of the bill paid   late.          (b)  This section does 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, or any other   amount that is unrelated to utility costs.          SECTION 4.  Section 13.505, Water Code, is amended to read as   follows:          Sec. 13.505.  ENFORCEMENT.  (a)  In this section,   "overcharge" means 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.          (b)  If [In addition to the enforcement provisions contained   in Subchapter K, if] an apartment house owner, condominium manager,   manufactured home rental community owner, or other multiple use   facility owner violates a rule of the utility commission regarding   utility costs, the person claiming the violation may file a   complaint with the utility commission.  If the utility commission   determines that the owner or condominium manager overcharged a   complaining tenant for water or wastewater service from the retail   public utility, the utility commission shall require the owner or   condominium manager, as applicable, to repay the complaining tenant   the amount overcharged.          (c)  If the owner or condominium manager fails to comply with   the utility commission's order to repay the overcharge, the   complaining tenant may recover from the owner or condominium   manager in an action brought under this section [submetering of   utility service consumed exclusively within the tenant's dwelling   unit or multiple use facility unit or nonsubmetered master metered   utility costs, the tenant may recover] three times the amount of the    [any] overcharge, a civil penalty of $100 [equal to one month's   rent], reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs from the owner   or condominium manager. However, an owner of an apartment house,   manufactured home rental community, or other multiple use facility   or condominium manager is not liable [for a civil penalty] if the   owner or condominium manager proves the violation was a good faith,   unintentional mistake.          (d)  A tenant must exhaust administrative remedies before   the tenant brings an action in district court against an apartment   house owner, condominium manager, manufactured home rental   community owner, or other multiple use facility owner who violates   a requirement of this subchapter or a rule of the utility commission   adopted under this subchapter.          SECTION 5.  Section 13.506, Water Code, is amended by adding   Subsection (d) to read as follows:          (d)  There is a rebuttable presumption that an owner of an   apartment house or a multiple use facility or a manager of a   condominium that adopted an existing program to submeter or   allocate water from a previous owner or manager has not committed an   act giving rise to a cause of action under this section.          SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2017.