I own a five unit apartment building. I would like to install individual meters and charge the tenants for their water and sewer use, but was told that is illegal in Massachusetts. Is that true? -- Jack, Tisbury

Strangely enough, Massachusetts law used to prohibit landlords from “sub-metering” and charging tenants for their water and sewer use. Happily for those who wish to conserve water resources, the law was changed effective March of 2005. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186, Section 22 now allows landlords to sub-meter if they follow a number of requirements outlined in the Section. The landlord must certify (under penalties of perjury) to the board of health, health department, or other municipal agency or department charged with enforcement of the state sanitary code that:

 1) the dwelling unit is eligible for the imposition on the tenant of a charge for water usage in accordance with paragraph “d” of Section 22 (primarily, the landlord must show that the meters were installed at the beginning of a new tenancy, that the metering arrangement is described in the tenancy of lease agreement, and that the former tenant left voluntarily or for non-payment of rent);

 2) all showerheads, faucets, and water closets in the dwelling unit are water conservation devices and that all water closets were installed by a licensed plumber; and

 3) the sub-meters were installed by a licensed plumber and are in compliance with the standards of accuracy and testing referenced in subsection “b” of Section 22.

 I strongly encourage landlords to read Section 22 BEFORE attempting to sub-meter their buildings. As you might imagine, our legislators have created a number of hoops to jump through, including specific requirements for the form of the water bill that each tenant is entitled to receive.  For more information or to post a question, visit our MA Tenant Law Discussion Forum.