You asked if the fact that a private housing development has some tenants who pay subsidized (Section 8 voucher) rent prohibits the owner from charging the tenants (whether receiving a subsidy or not) for the cost of water and sewer usage.

An owner can charge both tenants with Section 8 vouchers and those who receive no subsidy the cost of their share of water and sewer use.

Connecticut law allows a landlord and tenant to include in a rental agreement terms and conditions not prohibited by law, including provisions governing the rights and obligations of the parties (e. g. , paying for utilities) (CGS § 47a-3).

Federal law allows landlords to charge Section 8 voucher holders the cost of certain utilities, including water and sewer usage, in the gross rent. (Section 8 is the federal rent subsidy program for low-income households run by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)).

If a landlord does not include the cost of utilities in the rent and charges separately, the public housing authority administering the voucher must provide an allowance to the family for the cost of the utilities. Utility costs must be reasonable, based on “the typical cost of

utilities and services paid by energy-conservative households that occupy housing of similar size and type in the same locality,” according to HUD’s form HUD-52667 (12/97) (42 USC § 1437f).

If a landlord wants to change the lease to give the responsibility for water and sewer payment to the tenant, Section 8 regulations require that the landlord and the tenant first agree to the changes to the lease terms in writing. The landlord must send the housing authority a copy of the changes. The housing authority must approve changes before they take effect (24 CFR 892). However, shifting responsibility for water and sewer use can be a risk, as the property owner is ultimately responsible for the bill. A water utility company can place a lien for unpaid water bills on real property served by the utility (unlike with electric utilities). For example, if a tenant is responsible for paying the water bill, but fails to pay and abandons the housing unit, the owner is responsible, Ivan Pour, Glastonbury Housing Authority executive director with whom we spoke for this report, noted. For additional information about utilities and tenants and owners, we have attached OLR Reports (1) 99-R-1292, Water Utility Billing Practices, and (2) 2002-R-0624, Utility Issues for Tenants.

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