California Apartment Association

As in past years, Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, introduced legislation in 2015 that would mandate the installation of water submeters in units of new multi-family housing. SB 7 would impose this mandate effective Jan. 1, 2017, and include provisions to clarify how multifamily property owners can charge tenants for water use.

A submeter gauges water use in an individual apartment. This gives the tenant a financial incentive to conserve water because it keeps the renter’s bill down. This is good for both the tenant – and California’s water supply, especially during California’s worsening drought.

Many property owners already have voluntarily installed water submeters in individual units. Rental property owners who’ve done so typically use third-party billing companies to read those submeters and bill tenants.  SB 7 provides guidance, both to owners and billing firms, on how this should work and would ensure that renters in submetered units obtain disclosures and are afforded equitable billing procedures.

The bill would in no way affect properties without submeters where tenants are billed separately through ratio-allocation utility systems, also known as RUBs.

Earlier this month, SB 7 passed the Assembly’s Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

While additional work to ensure affordability of submeter installation remains, CAA hopes all interested parties can reach common ground so that SB 7 reaches the governor’s desk this year.