State-by-state utility billing

Apartment Utility Billing Rules by State

Utility billing is one of the worst areas for nationwide rules of thumb. These 26 states have dedicated RentBillCheck source layers for landlord billing, water/electric submetering, RUBS/allocation, utility-responsibility disclosure, landlord-account shutoff or essential-service rights. States without an exact source topic stay in the broader utility workflow instead of getting a thin page.

Utility Billing Hub →Utility Shutoff?

26dedicated state utility topics

3rule-type groups

Sourceverified before inclusion

Why only 26 states?

We only publish an exact state utility page when the source layer adds a specific billing, allocation, disclosure, metering, fee, shutoff or essential-service rule. For other states, use the general Utility Billing Hub plus the lease, bill and relevant local or regulatory source.

Find your state rule

Search verified utility guides

Search by state or rule topic, then narrow the list to allocation, submetering or disclosure/service protections.

State or keywordRule type

Showing 26 of 26 verified state guides.

11 verified states

RUBS, allocation & shared billing

States where the source layer directly addresses allocation formulas, shared/master bills, landlord-billed utilities or related records and fees.

Arizona — Utility Billing, RUBS & Admin Fees
Submetering and RUBS are expressly addressed; the lease must disclose separately charged utilities and the admin fee, and the admin fee is limited to actual administrative costs.Colorado — RUBS & Ratio Utility Billing
HB26-1013, effective March 26, 2026, limits aggregate tenant RUBS billing to the provider charge, bars added fees above actual utility charges, excludes common-area/shared-facility costs and requires the allocation method in the rental agreement. Qualifying new construction permits from July 1, 2027 trigger direct-meter/submeter requirements.Connecticut — Master-Meter RUB, Submetering & Utility Liability
Current §16-262e and Northland restrict estimated proportionate RUB recoupment of master-meter building-wide utility costs; approved submetering has separate PURA/rate protections. PA 26-113 adds a separate-meter lease rule effective October 1, 2026 for agreements entered into or renewed on or after that date.Illinois — Master-Meter Utility Allocation & Tenant Metering
765 ILCS 740/5 requires a written allocation formula for master-metered utilities, limits aggregate tenant collections to the public-utility bill and gives tenants bill-copy rights; 765 ILCS 735/1.2 separately addresses a tenant meter serving common or other areas. The new statewide rental-fee transparency rule takes effect January 1, 2027.Indiana — Water & Wastewater Sub-Billing, RUBS & Admin Fees
IURC rules for landlord water/wastewater sub-billing cover submetering and reasonable RUBS/allocation methods, detailed bill disclosures, landlord-use deductions, a $4 administration-fee limit, no late fees on sub-bills and at least 17 days before collection action.Maryland — RUBS & Apartment Utility Billing
Real Property §8-212.4 requires pre-lease RUBS disclosures, recent master bills, allocation-method and fee disclosure plus tenant record access; §7-303 separately regulates gas/electric submetering. The enacted 2026 water-submeter law takes effect October 1, 2026.Minnesota — Shared-Meter Utility Billing
Detailed rules for shared meters, submetering, natural-gas and water/sewer apportionment, provider-bill access and capped administrative billing charges.North Carolina — Water/Sewer Billing, Metering & Allocation
G.S. 62-110(g), G.S. 42-42.1 and NCUC Chapter 18 regulate landlord water/sewer billing methods, supplier-rate limits, administrative fees, bill timing and records; Session Law 2026-59 amended the pre-1989 allocation provision effective August 11, 2026.Oregon — Landlord-Billed Utilities & Allocation
Written billing, allocation explanations, provider-bill access, common-area disclosure and billing/payment timing under ORS 90.315.Texas — Water & Sewer Submetering / Allocation
PUC rules for covered submetered and allocated water/wastewater billing, calculations, disclosures and complaint jurisdiction.Virginia — RUBS, Submetering & Utility Billing
Current §55.1-1212 covers lease-disclosed RUBS/submetering, allocation methods, billing periods, service charges, utility late charges and tenant record access; the official Code also publishes a later version effective July 1, 2027.

3 verified states

Submetering & individual metering

States where the exact topic is primarily about submetered service, meter protections, rate limits or a metering-specific billing framework.

California — Submetered Water & Utility Billing
Dedicated state source layer for submetered water disclosures, bill components and the limits of statewide utility-billing jurisdiction.Massachusetts — Water Submetering & Tenant Billing
M.G.L. c.186 §22 requires a qualifying metering and tenancy framework, written rental-agreement disclosure, detailed water bills and provider-cost math; it also bars added billing/admin/submetering fees and provides leak and meter-test procedures.New York — Residential Electric Submetering
16 NYCRR Part 96 governs covered residential electric submetering through PSC authorization/conditions, rate caps, resident notices, HEFPA protections, complaint procedures, six-year billing records and meter-test protections.

12 verified states

Utility disclosure, shutoff & service rights

States where the strongest exact statewide layer concerns utility-responsibility disclosure, landlord/master-account shutoff, essential-service interruption, direct-utility customer rights or the pricing structure around separately charged utilities.

Florida — Utility Shutoff & Former-Occupant Municipal Debt
Fla. Stat. §83.67 prohibits landlord-caused interruption of utility service furnished to a tenant, while §180.135 limits refusal or discontinuance of municipal utility, water or sewer service because of covered charges incurred by a former occupant. These are service/prior-debt rules, not a statewide RUBS formula.Georgia — Multifamily Utility Shutoff & Tenant Notice
Georgia PSC rules require at least five days’ tenant notice before covered electric shutoff where the landlord is responsible; natural-gas multifamily notice is at least five days for an LDC and fifteen days for a marketer/electing distribution company with billing responsibility. These are shutoff/consumer-protection rules, not a statewide RUBS formula.Iowa — Utility Charge Disclosure
Dedicated state disclosure topic for tenant-paid utility charges and rental-agreement information.Maine — Common-Area Utilities & Cost Disclosure
14 M.R.S. §6024 restricts making one tenant solely responsible for utilities serving common/other areas without the specified written compensation arrangement, while §6030-J includes utility service costs in the pre-tenancy total-price disclosure framework when that disclosure is required.Michigan — Utility Shutoff & Tenant Service Rights
MCL 600.2918 addresses owner-caused interruption of essential services, while MPSC residential billing rules include a 30-day dwelling-unit notice before proposed shutoff in specified single-metered 3+ household landlord-account situations. These are service/shutoff protections, not a universal statewide RUBS formula.Nevada — Utility Charges Outside Periodic Rent
Current NRS 118A.200 generally requires one maximum periodic-rent figure for mandatory fees and allows separately charged electric, natural-gas or water costs only in the utility exceptions described in subsection 8, including a specific master-metered water disclosure path.New Jersey — Utility Bill, Shutoff & Meter Rights
NJBPU consumer rights cover disputed regulated-utility charges, meter tests, unexplained high-consumption diversion investigations and multifamily shutoff notice. N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 separately protects qualifying rent used to continue service after a landlord-nonpayment shutoff notice. These sources do not create a statewide RUBS formula.Ohio — Master-Meter Utility Shutoff & Tenant Notice
Ohio Admin. Code 4901:1-18-08 gives master-metered or included-utility tenants a staged landlord-nonpayment shutoff notice process and keeps the landlord/owner as the master-meter customer; Ohio Rev. Code §5321.15 separately bars landlord utility termination used to recover possession outside lawful eviction procedures.Pennsylvania — Landlord Utility Shutoff & Tenant Rights
66 Pa.C.S. Chapter 15 protects covered tenants when included gas, electric, steam, sewer or water service is in a landlord-ratepayer account facing termination, with advance tenant notice, continued-service and payment-recovery rights plus nonwaiver and anti-retaliation provisions.Rhode Island — Utility Cost Disclosure & Essential Services
R.I. Gen. Laws §34-18-15 requires disclosure of which utility costs are included in rent versus the tenant’s responsibility; §§34-18-31 and 34-18-34 separately address wrongful failure to supply or willful interruption of essential services. These are disclosure/service rules rather than a statewide RUBS formula.Washington — Utility Shutoff & Landlord-Provided Service Rights
RCW 59.18.060, .070 and .300 cover landlord-provided facilities, urgent loss of water/heat/electricity and intentional utility shutoffs; RCW 35.21.217 adds notice and continued-service protections in specified city/town electric or water master-account situations. These are service-protection rules, not a universal statewide RUBS formula.Wisconsin — Utility Cost Allocation Disclosure
ATCP 134.04(3) requires pre-lease disclosure when water, heat or electricity is outside rent and requires the allocation basis when individual units/common areas are not separately metered. It is a disclosure rule, not one universal statewide RUBS formula.

First identify the scenario

Direct utility account in the tenant’s name.
Unit submeter measuring individual usage.
RUBS or another allocation formula based on occupancy, square footage or another factor.
Landlord-billed provider charges with a separate administration or service fee.
Third-party billing provider handling statements or collections.
Landlord/master-account shutoff, essential-service interruption or a threatened disconnection.

Then compare the state rule

Depending on the state, the exact source may regulate which billing or allocation method can be used, what the lease must disclose, whether tenants can inspect or test billing inputs, which common-area costs are excluded, how an administration fee is calculated, how a regulated utility dispute is handled, or what notice/remedy applies when service is threatened or interrupted.

Bill amount or method problem
Classify direct billing, submetering, RUBS/allocation or unclear landlord billing.Service off or threatened
Identify who caused the interruption, account holder, provider notice and state shutoff/service rule.

Effective dates matter

Some statutory pages publish multiple versions or newly enacted rules with different effective dates. Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and Illinois currently have examples in this library. Use the version that applies to the billing period you are reviewing instead of treating a future-effective rule as current law.

Educational information only. Utility regulation can depend on the utility type, property type, billing model, account holder, effective date and local regulator. A state guide does not automatically decide whether a particular bill or shutoff is valid.