The State Sanitary Code requires property owners to pay for utilities (gas or electric), unless there are separate meters that measure only the usage in a tenant’s apartment and nothing else (105 C.M.R. § 410.354) and there is a written agreement (lease or other writing) that the tenant pays the utility bills. For example, if a gas meter measures the usage in one tenant’s apartment, but that same meter also measures consumption of a water heater that serves three units in the building, the tenant cannot be made responsible for that meter. Any other situation where one tenant’s meter measures that tenant’s own consumption and any other usage in the building (for example, common laundry facilities in the basement, or hallway lighting, or part of someone else’s apartment) is also illegal.11
If a customer believes that the owner has violated the provisions of the sanitary code regarding metering requirements, call the local board of health (or code inspection agency) and ask for an inspection. Make sure to tell the board of health that the customer believes there is a cross-metering problem, as the board may want to bring along the wiring or plumbing inspector.
If the board of health says that there is a metering problem, give a copy of the board’s report to the utility company within 60 days. The law requires the utility company to switch the customer’s entire bill to the landlord’s name until the board of health certifies that the problem has been fixed. The company will usually have to refund all of the customer’s utility bills that were paid during the period of improper metering, up to 2 years, if the customer paid for the heating, hot water, air conditioner, dryer, refrigerator, or freezer usage in another apartment or common area. If the incorrect metering only resulted in the customer paying for a common area light, doorbell, smoke alarm, or fire alarm, the company will refund a total of $10 per month for the relevant period. The company will then require the landlord to pay the remainder of the back bills.12
There is another kind of cross-metering in which the meters of two apartments are completely crossed. In this situation, each tenant is being billed for the utilities used by the other apartment. The DPU has sometimes ruled that this kind of cross-metering is the fault of the utility company, because the company has an obligation to test which meter belongs to which apartment and to get this right before sending the bills. If a customer thinks that he or she has been billed for someone else’s energy use, call the utility company and ask the company to check whether the account numbers and meters in the company’s records properly match up with the apartment units in the building. If it turns out that a customer’s meter has been crossed with someone else’s and that the customer has been overcharged, the company may have to refund all (or a portion) of the bills for the relevant period.
11 There is an exemption for buildings with 3 or fewer units that allows the owner to put common hallway lighting on one tenant’s meter, if the owner and tenant sign a written agreement acknowledging that the tenant must pay for the common area lighting. 105 C.M.R. § 410.254(B).
12 See 220 C.M.R. §§ 29.01–29.13.