Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 24 - SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO WATER AND SEWER SERVICE PROVIDERS › Subchapter I - WATER UTILITY SUBMETERING AND ALLOCATION › Section 24.275 - General Rules and Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(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.