California Apartment Association

Gov. Jerry Brown this month will decide the fate of a bill governing the installation of water submeters in new apartment construction, including mechanisms to pass along associated costs to renters.

Sen. Lois Wolk

SB 7 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would require the installation of submeters in multi-unit dwellings built after Jan. 1, 2018, and that residents receive accurate information about the volume and cost of their water use.

At the same time, the legislation, supported by the California Apartment Association, clarifies how multifamily property owners can charge tenants for water use, and it allows for late fees and eviction when tenants don’t pay their bills. The bill would, in no way, affect existing properties without submeters where tenants are billed separately through ratio-allocation utility systems, also known as RUBs.

The approval of SB 7 follows a six-year effort by both Wolk and CAA to craft a fair and cost-effective bill on submeters. Submeters gauge water use in individual apartments, so water bills more accurately reflect actual use by tenants.

“When a large part of our population — renters — do not receive a water bill, there is no incentive on their part to conserve,” said Debra Carlton, senior vice president of public affairs for CAA. “SB 7 will change that.”