Dispute a Landlord's RUBS / Utility Billing — Demand Disclosure & Itemization (Free Template)

[Your Full Name]
[Unit / Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Phone] [Email]

[Date]

[Landlord / Property Management Company Legal Name]
[Attn: Property Manager / Billing Department]
[Address]

cc: [On-site manager; third-party billing company, e.g. Conservice / Yardi / RealPage, if one issues your bills]

Sent via certified mail, return receipt requested
(Copy also emailed to [billing email])

Re: Demand for Disclosure and Itemization of Utility Charges — Unit [#], Account [#]

To [Landlord / Property Manager]:

I rent [Unit #] at [Property Address] under a lease dated [Date]. I am writing about the utility charges you bill me each month. I am asking you to disclose how those charges are calculated, to itemize them, and to correct any amount that exceeds what is permitted.

The charges at issue:

  • Utility(ies) billed to me: [water / sewer / gas / electric / trash / "utilities"]
  • How they appear on my bill: [a flat monthly fee / a "RUBS" or "ratio" charge / a submeter reading / a line item labeled "utilities" with no breakdown]
  • Amount in dispute: $[Amount] over [billing periods / dates]
  • Third-party biller, if any: [Company name and account number]

What I am asking for:

  1. The exact method used to calculate my share. If you allocate a master-meter bill among tenants (a "ratio utility billing system" or RUBS), provide the written allocation formula — the factors used (square footage, occupancy, number of bedrooms, fixtures) and the math applied to my unit.
  2. A copy of the underlying utility bill(s) from the utility company for each period you have billed me, so I can confirm my share does not exceed the building's actual cost.
  3. An itemized statement for each period: the building total, the allocation factor, my calculated share, and any separate service or administrative fee, identified as such.
  4. If I am on a submeter: the submeter's location, its last calibration/certification date, and the rate applied (which may not exceed the rate the utility charges the property).

Legal basis:

[Pick the tier that matches your state — strike the others.]

  [TIER A — State statute regulates how this is billed and disclosed]

  [CALIFORNIA — shared meter] Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.9, if my meter also measures gas or electric service to areas outside my unit (common areas, another unit, exterior lighting), you were required to disclose that before the tenancy or on discovery, and to either agree in writing on payment for the shared portion or become the customer of record yourself. If you did not, I am entitled to be reimbursed for service outside my unit back to the date that duty arose, and a court may order you made the customer of record on my meter.

  [CALIFORNIA — water submeter] If you bill me for water through a submeter, Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.204 required written pre-lease disclosure (in at least 10-point type) of the separate water billing, an estimated monthly amount, due dates, permissible charges, the submeter's location and calculation method on request, and how to challenge the meter's accuracy through the county sealer. Under this chapter you may bill me only for my metered volumetric usage plus a share of the purveyor's fixed charge and a permitted cost-recovery and late fee — not a markup.

  [ILLINOIS — master-meter allocation] Under the Tenant Utility Payment Disclosure Act, 765 ILCS 740/5, you may not demand payment for master-metered utility service on a proportionate-share basis without first giving me, in writing, the formula used to allocate the bill among tenants. The total of all tenants' payments for the building may not exceed the amount the utility charged, and you must provide a copy of the utility bill for any period you bill me, on request.

  [TEXAS — submetered/allocated water & wastewater] Under Tex. Water Code § 13.503 and the TCEQ rules at 30 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 291, Subchapter H, you may charge me only the utility's actual cost per gallon plus applicable taxes and surcharges — no markup — and a service charge that may not exceed nine percent of the submetering costs allocated to my unit. Any late fee may not exceed five percent of the bill. You must use a TCEQ-approved allocation method, keep itemized records, and make them available to me for inspection.

  [NEW YORK — submetered electricity] If you submeter electricity to my unit, you may do so only with Public Service Commission authorization, and as a submeterer you must give me the full protections of the Home Energy Fair Practices Act. Under Public Service Law § 53 those protections cannot be waived, and the billing, disclosure, and dispute conditions in 16 NYCRR Part 96 apply to my account.

  [MARYLAND — RUBS] Under Md. Code, Real Property § 8-212.4, a landlord who bills tenants through a ratio utility billing system must give the tenant, in writing before the lease, a statement of the allocated billing and the utilities covered, copies of the last two utility bills, a description of the allocation method for each utility, a statement that billing disputes are between tenant and landlord, the prior-year average monthly bill for all units, my right to inspect billing records, and a citation to the statute. A lease term requiring me to pay RUBS charges is unenforceable if you failed to provide that information.

  [TIER B — No specific statute; governed by my lease and consumer-protection law]
  My state does not have a submetering/RUBS disclosure statute, so these charges are governed by my lease. My lease [does / does not] disclose this billing method and [does / does not] specify how my share is calculated. [If it doesn't:] charging me for an amount not provided for in the lease is not authorized by our agreement, and billing an allocated or marked-up amount without disclosing the method may be an unfair or deceptive practice under [State] consumer-protection law. I am entitled to know what I am being charged for and on what basis.

Demand:

Within [21] days of receipt, please provide the disclosure, the underlying utility bills, and an itemized statement described above, and refund or credit any amount charged in excess of [my actual metered usage / the building's actual cost / the amount authorized by my lease and applicable statute], which I calculate at $[Amount].

If you do not, I intend to:
  • File a complaint with [my state's Attorney General / consumer-protection division; the TCEQ (Texas); the Public Service / Public Utilities Commission (NY, and states that regulate submetering); the local rental-housing or code office];
  • Withhold or deduct the disputed, undisclosed portion to the extent my lease and state law allow, and treat an unenforceable or undisclosed charge accordingly;
  • Pursue the amount in small claims court, plus any statutory remedy available (e.g., reimbursement and customer-of-record relief under Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.9; unenforceability of the charge under Md. Real Prop. § 8-212.4).

I would prefer to resolve this directly. Please send the requested records to the address above.

Sincerely,

[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]

Enclosures: [copies of the disputed utility bills/statements you sent me; the relevant lease page(s); my own utility-usage notes or photos of the submeter; any prior request for an explanation]