North Carolina Landlord Utility Billing, Water/Sewer & RUBS Rules (2026)

First identify which billing method is being used

• Metered consumption is the main water/sewer framework unless a statutory alternative applies.
• G.S. 62-110(g)(1a) contains a special allocation framework for qualifying pre-1989 contiguous dwelling units and, after the 2026 amendment, qualifying mobile homes in mobile home parks sited prior to 1989.
• An approved flat-rate supplier scenario is addressed separately in subdivision (1b).
• Subdivision (1c) allows a lessor to divide a unit’s water/sewer bill among lessees in that unit, with proration when lease days differ.

Bills and calculation records can be part of the review

In the special allocation framework under subdivision (1a), the landlord must maintain calculation records for at least 12 months and, after advance written notice, allow the lessee to inspect those records during reasonable business hours.

That billing statement must identify the amount allocated, the method used, the billing-period dates, the past-due date and contact information for billing questions.

Common-area and leak treatment can matter

For the subdivision (1a) allocation framework, the statute bars including common-area water/sewer service or water loss from leaks in the lessor’s water mains. It also restricts billing excess usage caused by a plumbing malfunction or other condition unknown to the tenant or already reported to the landlord.

Do not treat the administrative fee as an unlimited markup

G.S. 62-110(g) ties administrative fees to Utilities Commission authority. Current Rule R18-6 states a Commission-approved administrative fee of no more than $3.75 for meter reading, billing and collection, while allowing a provider without a separate base charge to request approval to pass through the supplier base charge as part of a higher total monthly fixed administrative fee. Check the approved schedule and billing model instead of assuming every amount above $3.75 is automatically improper.

The 2026 amendment changed the current text

Session Law 2026-59 § 52 was approved August 11, 2026 and amended G.S. 62-110(g)(1a), including adding certain pre-1989 mobile home parks and deleting a prior subparagraph restriction. For billing periods after that effective date, do not rely on an older copy of subsection (1a) without checking the enacted 2026 amendment.

Utility nonpayment does not give the landlord a general shutoff right

G.S. 42-42.1(b) says the lessor may not disconnect or terminate the lessee’s covered electric, water/sewer or natural-gas service, or the benefits of a covered central system, because the lessee did not pay the landlord-billed utility amount.

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