Free Texas Utility Payment Disclosure
Document which utilities are paid by the landlord, which by the tenant, and how shared utilities are allocated. Texas has no Property Code section requiring a standalone utility-payment disclosure — utility responsibility is a lease term. Where a landlord allocates nonsubmetered master metered water, Tex. Water Code Section 13.5031 puts the required disclosure in the rental agreement itself.
Free Texas Utility Payment Disclosure — overview
A Texas Utility Payment Disclosure records who pays for each utility at the rental property. Be clear about its legal status: Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code contains no section requiring a standalone utility-payment disclosure, and the section number circulated for one on other form sites does not exist in the code at all. Utility responsibility is a term of the lease. What Texas does regulate is submetered and allocated billing of water and wastewater at apartment houses and similar properties, in Tex. Water Code Chapter 13 Subchapter M, and the interruption of utility service, in Tex. Prop. Code Section 92.008.
Complete the Disclosure Form
Complete the form below to generate a comprehensive Texas Utility Payment Disclosure. The form produces a multi-page PDF in legal-document format with all sections, signature lines, and tenant acknowledgment. Both parties should sign the printed copy.
1. Rental Property
2. Utility Payment Responsibility
For each utility, indicate who is responsible for payment.
3. Tenant Information
4. Landlord Information
5. Tenant Acknowledgment
About Texas Utility Payment Disclosure
Tex. Water Code Chapter 13, Subchapter M — entitled “Submetering and Nonsubmetering for Apartments and Manufactured Home Rental Communities and Other Multiple Use Facilities” and running from Section 13.501 to Section 13.506 — is where Texas actually regulates shared utility billing. It reaches water and wastewater service, and it applies to an “apartment house”, which Section 13.501(1) defines as one or more buildings containing five or more dwelling units occupied primarily for nontransient use with rent paid at intervals of one month or longer, as well as to manufactured home rental communities, multiple use facilities and condominiums. Section 13.503 directs the Public Utility Commission to adopt submetering rules; those rules must bar the owner from imposing charges over and above the cost per gallon plus applicable taxes and surcharges, require the owner to keep submetering records available for tenant inspection during reasonable business hours, and may allow a late fee on a submetered water bill of no more than five percent of the bill paid late, plus a service charge of no more than nine percent of the submetering costs allocated to each unit (with Section 13.503(c-1) removing that service charge for residents of low income housing tax credit units and Section 8 voucher holders). Section 13.5031(a)(1) and (2) is the real disclosure duty: for nonsubmetered master metered utility service the rental agreement must contain a clear written description of the method of calculating the allocation, and a statement of the average unit monthly bill for all units for the previous calendar year. Section 13.502(e) bars an owner from switching from submetered to allocated billing without the Commission’s written approval on a demonstration of good cause. Section 13.504 requires an owner who raised rents for increased utility costs in the 90 days before installing meters or submeters to reduce the rent and refund the increase.
Texas’s Utility Payment Disclosure Framework
- Standalone Texas utility-disclosure statute: none. Utility responsibility is a lease term, and Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code contains no such section
- Submetering and allocated water/wastewater billing: Tex. Water Code Sections 13.501–13.506, implemented by Public Utility Commission rules adopted under Sections 13.503 and 13.5031
- Required where nonsubmetered master metered water is allocated: the rental agreement must state the allocation calculation method and the previous calendar year’s average monthly bill for all units (Section 13.5031(a)(1), (2))
- Submetered or allocated electricity: a landlord may interrupt electric service for nonpayment only under the narrow, heavily conditioned regime in Tex. Prop. Code Section 92.008(h)–(r) — a written lease right, a bill unpaid after the 12th day, two prescribed “electricity termination notice” documents, weather and illness protections, a deferred payment plan, and a reconnection fee capped at $10, and only where a written lease states the exact amount (Section 92.008(r))
- Tenant remedies: a complaint to the Public Utility Commission, which has exclusive jurisdiction over Subchapter M violations and must order repayment of any overcharge (Water Code Section 13.505(b), (c)); and, for unlawful interruption of utility service, recovery of possession or termination of the lease plus actual damages, one month’s rent plus $1,000, reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs (Prop. Code Section 92.008(f)), a remedy the lease cannot waive (Section 92.008(g))
What the Disclosure Covers
- Water and sewer service responsibility
- Electric service responsibility
- Natural gas or propane responsibility
- Trash and recycling
- Internet and cable (if provided)
- Lawn and common area maintenance
Tenant Reporting Responsibilities
Texas tenants should review the utility arrangement carefully and keep a copy. If your building has five or more units and your water is allocated rather than submetered, the allocation method and the previous year’s average monthly bill for all units belong in the rental agreement itself under Tex. Water Code Section 13.5031(a). If you believe the allocation breaches a Commission rule, Section 13.505(c) lets you file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which has exclusive jurisdiction and must require repayment of any overcharge it finds. If the landlord cuts off a utility other than for bona fide repairs, construction or an emergency, Tex. Prop. Code Section 92.008(f) lets you recover possession or terminate the lease and recover actual damages, one month’s rent plus $1,000, attorney’s fees and court costs.
Related Resources
- Texas habitability laws
- Texas landlord tenant laws
- Texas tenant screening laws
- Texas security deposit laws
- Texas eviction notice laws
- Habitability laws by state
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Texas require a standalone utility payment disclosure?
No, and that is a useful negative to have straight. Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code contains no section requiring a landlord to give a separate utility-payment disclosure listing who pays for water, electricity, gas, trash, or internet. Utility responsibility in Texas is an ordinary lease term. Documenting it clearly is good practice — it prevents disputes and gives you a record — but it is not a statutory duty, and no penalty attaches for using a lease clause instead of a separate form. Where Texas does regulate is allocated and submetered water billing and the interruption of utility service.
When does Texas actually require utility information in the rental agreement?
When nonsubmetered master metered utility service costs are prorated or allocated among tenants. Texas Water Code § 13.5031(a) directs the Public Utility Commission to adopt rules governing those billing methods, and requires those rules to provide that the rental agreement contain a clear written description of the method of calculating the allocation, and a statement of the average unit monthly bill for all units for any allocation of those utilities for the previous calendar year. Note where the statute puts it: in the rental agreement itself, not in a separate disclosure document handed over alongside the lease.
Which properties and which utilities does the allocation subchapter cover?
Texas Water Code Chapter 13, Subchapter M reaches apartment houses, manufactured home rental communities, condominiums, and other multiple use facilities. Section 13.501(1) defines an apartment house as one or more buildings containing five or more dwelling units occupied primarily for nontransient use with rent paid at intervals of one month or longer, so a fourplex or a single-family rental falls outside the definition. Section 13.501(4) defines nonsubmetered master metered utility service as water utility service that is master metered for the apartment house — the allocation rules are about water and wastewater, not about electricity, gas, or trash.
Can a landlord add a markup or administrative fee to a submetered water bill?
Only within limits set by Commission rule. Texas Water Code § 13.503 requires the rules to bar charges over and above the utility’s charges, to require records to be kept available for tenant inspection during reasonable business hours, and permits a late fee on a submetered water bill of no more than five percent of the bill paid late. Section 13.503(c-1) bars the rules from authorising the additional service charge against a tenant who resides in a unit that received a low income housing tax credit allocation or who receives tenant-based Section 8 voucher assistance. Section 13.5031(a)(3) applies the no-markup principle to allocated billing.
Can a Texas landlord shut off utility service when the tenant does not pay?
Almost never, and the one exception is tightly conditioned. Texas Property Code § 92.008(a) bars a landlord from interrupting utility service the tenant pays directly to the utility company, and § 92.008(b) bars interruption of water, wastewater, gas, or electric service the landlord furnishes, in each case unless the interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency. The narrow exception in § 92.008(h) applies only to submetered or allocated electricity, and only where the lease grants the right in writing, the bill is unpaid after the 12th day, and two separate prescribed termination notices are delivered.
What protections apply if electric service is interrupted for nonpayment?
Section 92.008 layers several. Interruption is barred in extreme heat and cold conditions measured against National Weather Service reports and advisories, and is barred where a physician, nurse, or similar practitioner certifies that a person residing in the dwelling will become seriously ill or more seriously ill. A tenant who enters a written deferred payment plan complying with § 92.008(l) avoids interruption. Under § 92.008(n) a landlord who receives payment or a plan during normal business hours must reconnect within two hours. Section 92.008(r) caps any reconnection fee at $10, and only where a written lease states the exact amount.
What can a tenant recover for an unlawful utility cutoff?
Section 92.008(f) lets the tenant either recover possession of the premises or terminate the lease, and, in addition to other remedies available under law, recover from the landlord actual damages, one month’s rent plus $1,000, reasonable attorney’s fees, and court costs — less any delinquent rents or other sums for which the tenant is liable to the landlord. That final offset is part of the statute and is often left out of summaries. Section 92.008(g) makes void any lease provision purporting to waive a right or exempt a party from a liability or duty under the section.
Where does a tenant complain about a water allocation they think is wrong?
To the Public Utility Commission of Texas, not to a court. Texas Water Code § 13.505(b) gives the utility commission exclusive jurisdiction for violations under Subchapter M, and § 13.505(c) lets a person claiming a violation of a commission rule regarding utility costs file a complaint. The same subsection requires the commission and the State Office of Administrative Hearings to maintain an online and telephone complaint and hearing system with remote appearance. If the commission determines the owner or condominium manager overcharged the complaining tenant for water or wastewater service, it must require repayment of the amount overcharged.
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⚖ Legal Disclaimer
This form is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For Texas utility rules, visit Public Utility Commission of Texas and review Tex. Water Code Sections 13.501–13.506 and Tex. Prop. Code Section 92.008. Consult a qualified Texas attorney for advice specific to your situation.
