Bills › 88th General Assembly
Relating to utility cost disclosures in connection with rental properties, providing penalties, and including applicability provisions
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 6, 2019
- Stopped: SubcommitteeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: House committee
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: Senate committee
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2020 session adjourned on June 14, 2020, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
This bill relates to utility cost disclosure requirements in connection with rental properties.56, relating to the provision of energy costs by a gas or electric utility upon request with regard to the purchase or rental of real property, to provide that the Code section refers to ownership or prospective ownership of real property, not the rental or prospective rental of the property.13A within the uniform residential landlord and tenant law provisions of Code chapter 562A requiring that a landlord or a person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on behalf of the landlord shall disclose to a prospective tenant in writing at or before the commencement of the tenancy, or to an existing tenant at any point during the tenancy, the gas, electric, water, or sewer utility service costs for a dwelling unit.
Read the full explanation
The bill specifies that the utility service costs shall be provided with respect to a dwelling unit for the preceding 12-month period, or for the period beginning when utility service commenced if less than one year, based upon information obtained at no charge by the landlord or person authorized to enter into the rental agreement from the utility furnishing utility service. In the event of new construction, the bill requires utility service cost information from similar dwelling units in similar properties to be obtained in writing from a utility and supplied to a prospective tenant, or in the alternative, a landlord may obtain a written estimate of anticipated utility service costs from a utility or an energy consultant. The bill directs the office of consumer advocate to develop an energy cost disclosure statement for utilization by landlords, containing space for the disclosure of the utility service costs and also including space for a representative list of energy efficiency standards incorporating features or upgrades that a dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part might conceivably exhibit or offer. The bill provides that the list of energy efficiency standards shall be developed by the office in consultation with state and federal energy efficiency agencies and experts and shall be accompanied by a space for the landlord to indicate whether or not the unit or building meets or exceeds each standard. The bill provides that a landlord who fails to supply the required utility service cost disclosure statement upon receipt of a written notice by a tenant or a prospective tenant shall have seven days from the date of receipt of the notice to provide the required disclosure statement. If a landlord fails to provide the disclosure statement within the seven-day period, or enters into a rental agreement with a tenant without first disclosing utility service costs or misrepresents utility service costs on a disclosure statement, the bill provides that the landlord shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500.102. The bill applies to rental agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2020.