| (a) Purpose and scope. The provisions of this subchapter
are intended to establish a comprehensive regulatory system to assure
that the practices involving submetered and allocated billing of dwelling
units and multiple use facilities for water and sewer utility service
are just and reasonable and include appropriate safeguards for tenants.
(b) Application. The provisions of this subchapter
apply to apartment houses, condominiums, multiple use facilities,
and manufactured home rental communities billing for water and wastewater
utility service on a submetered or allocated basis. The provisions
of this subchapter do 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, a fee relating to upkeep or management
of chilled water, boiler, heating, ventilation, air conditioning,
or other building system, or any other amount that is unrelated to
water and sewer utility service costs.
(c) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this subchapter, have the defined meanings, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Allocated utility service--Water or wastewater
utility service that is master metered to an owner by a retail public
utility and allocated to tenants by the owner.
(2) Apartment house--A building or buildings containing
five or more dwelling units that are occupied primarily for nontransient
use, including a residential condominium whether rented or owner occupied,
and if a dwelling unit is rented, having rent paid at intervals of
one month or more.
(3) Condominium manager--A condominium unit owners'
association organized under Texas Property Code §82.101, or an
incorporated or unincorporated entity comprising the council of owners
under Chapter 81, Property Code. Condominium Manager and Manager of
a Condominium have the same meaning.
(4) Customer service charge--A customer service charge
is a rate that is not dependent on the amount of water used through
the master meter.
(5) Dwelling unit--One or more rooms in an apartment
house or condominium, suitable for occupancy as a residence, and containing
kitchen and bathroom facilities; a unit in a multiple use facility;
or a manufactured home in a manufactured home rental community.
(6) Dwelling unit base charge--A flat rate or fee charged
by a retail public utility for each dwelling unit recorded by the
retail public utility.
(7) Manufactured home rental community--A property
on which spaces are rented for the occupancy of manufactured homes
for nontransient residential use and for which rental is paid at intervals
of one month or longer.
(8) Master meter--A meter used to measure, for billing
purposes, all water usage of an apartment house, condominium, multiple
use facility, or manufactured home rental community, including common
areas, common facilities, and dwelling units.
(9) Multiple use facility--A commercial or industrial
park, office complex, or marina with five or more units that are occupied
primarily for nontransient use and are rented at intervals of one
month or longer.
(10) Occupant--A tenant or other person authorized
under a written agreement to occupy a dwelling.
(11) Overcharge--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. Overcharge
and Overbilling have the same meaning.
(12) Owner--The legal titleholder of an apartment house,
a manufactured home rental community, or a multiple use facility;
and any individual, firm, or corporation expressly identified in the
lease agreement as the landlord of tenants in the apartment house,
manufactured home rental community, or multiple use facility. The
term does not include the manager of an apartment home unless the
manager is expressly identified as the landlord in the lease agreement.
(13) Point-of-use submeter--A device located in a plumbing
system to measure the amount of water used at a specific point of
use, fixture, or appliance, including a sink, toilet, bathtub, or
clothes washer.
(14) Submetered utility service--Water utility service
that is master metered for the owner by the retail public utility
and individually metered by the owner at each dwelling unit; wastewater
utility service based on submetered water utility service; water utility
service measured by point-of-use submeters when all of the water used
in a dwelling unit is measured and totaled; or wastewater utility
service based on total water use as measured by point-of-use submeters.
(15) Tenant--A person who owns or is entitled to occupy
a dwelling unit or multiple use facility unit to the exclusion of
others and, if rent is paid, who is obligated to pay for the occupancy
under a written or oral rental agreement.
(16) Undercharge--The amount, if any, a tenant is charged
for submetered or nonsubmetered master metered utility service to
the tenant's dwelling unit less than the amount the tenant would have
been charged under this subchapter. Undercharge and Underbilling have
the same meaning.
(17) Utility costs--Any amount charged to the owner
by a retail public utility for water or wastewater service. Utility
Costs and Utility Service Costs have the same meaning.
(18) Utility service--For purposes of this subchapter,
utility service includes only drinking water and wastewater.
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