{"id":295090,"date":"2025-06-15T14:28:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/can-tenants-be-forced-to-pay-water-bills-in-massachusetts\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T14:28:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:28:34","slug":"can-tenants-be-forced-to-pay-water-bills-in-massachusetts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=295090","title":{"rendered":"Can Tenants Be Forced to Pay Water Bills in Massachusetts?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-1072\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>I recently was asked by one of our property management clients if tenants can be made to pay for water bills in Massachusetts. The client, who has just purchased a multi-family rental property in Brighton, said that the prior rental agreements stated tenants were to pay for all utilities, including water. He noted that there is not any sub-metering in place for water.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the rental property\u2019s water bill now represents the entire property, and there is no way to split the amounts. His valid question is: \u201cIs it okay to bill Unit 1 for 50% of the bill?\u201d My first response was to revisit the Massachusetts law regarding water billing and sub-metering at <a href=\"https:\/\/malegislature.gov\/Laws\/GeneralLaws\/PartII\/TitleI\/Chapter186\/Section22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/malegislature.gov\/Laws\/GeneralLaws\/PartII\/TitleI\/Chapter186\/Section22<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here are some of the key points that touch on answers to questions about charging tenants for water bills in Massachusetts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A landlord can\u2019t charge a tenant for water usage unless the water the tenant controls is specifically metered.<\/li>\n<li>Fully functioning water conservation devices must be installed by a licensed plumber on all faucets, showerheads, and water closets.<\/li>\n<li>The landlord must make a specific certification to the tenant regarding the eligibility of the water charges, and installation of water conservation devices and the sub-meter.<\/li>\n<li>These rules also apply to dwelling units that are directly connected to a meter installed by a water company (such as single-family homes).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To answer our property management customer\u2019s question, my interpretation is multi-family tenants can only be responsible for water usage when a certified sub-metering solution is in place, and when all of the guidelines under the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are adhered to under Section 22, which covers definitions; sub-meter installation; testing; water use charges; and public housing development exemption.<\/p>\n<p><em>Disclaimer: This blog is not meant as the advice, suggestion, or knowledge of a real estate lawyer, which I am not. Please consult an attorney if you are looking for legal advice on any issue concerning water bills in Massachusetts.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the<br \/>\n        achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See<br \/>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realpropertymgt.com\/eho\/\" title=\"Equal Housing Opportunity Statement\" target=\"_blank\">Equal Housing Opportunity Statement<br \/>\n        <\/a> for more information.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently was asked by one of our property management clients if tenants can be made to pay for water bills in Massachusetts. The client, who has just purchased a multi-family rental property in Brighton, said that the prior rental agreements stated tenants were to pay for all utilities, including water. He noted that there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98570],"tags":[10952,21993,7523,11007,32744,638],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-295090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-management","tag-bills","tag-forced","tag-massachusetts","tag-pay","tag-tenants","tag-water"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can Tenants Be Forced to Pay Water Bills in Massachusetts? - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=295090\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Tenants Be Forced to Pay Water Bills in Massachusetts? - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently was asked by one of our property management clients if tenants can be made to pay for water bills in Massachusetts. 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