Bill Text: NJ A5603 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns landlord responsibilities when charging for utilities consumed through shared meter.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-10-05 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee [A5603 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5603-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman KATIE BRENNAN
District 32 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns landlord responsibilities when charging for utilities consumed through shared meter.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning landlord responsibilities when charging for utilities through a shared meter and supplementing Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Landlord" means any person who rents or leases or offers to rent or lease, for a term of at least one month, dwelling units, except dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.
"Shared meter" means any utility meter that measures the water, electric, or gas provided to a tenant's dwelling and also measures such services to areas outside that dwelling.
"Submeter" means any device installed in connection with a main or shared meter to monitor utility consumption of a specific area.
b. A landlord of residential dwelling units served by a shared meter shall not charge a fee that is separated from the rent payment to a residential tenant for water, electric, or gas utilities when the tenant's utility use is measured through a shared meter, unless the landlord provides the tenant with information demonstrating that the charge is being split by allocating the utilities among the units by:
(1) an even distribution; or
(2) a Residential Utility Billing System Formula utilizing square footage or the number of tenants in the unit, or both.
c. If an individual dwelling unit is equipped with a submeter, then the landlord shall apply the submeter of the dwelling to determine the cost of the tenant's utility consumption rather than calculating utility consumption pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
d. If a shared meter includes utility consumption in one or more common areas shared among tenants, a landlord may split the utility charges for these shared common areas equally among tenants.
2. On or before the first day of the fourth month next following enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Community Affairs shall, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The rules and regulations adopted by the commissioner shall include, but shall not be limited to, guidance that a landlord shall comply with if the landlord:
a. provides information to tenants demonstrating how utility charges are split among units; or
b. provides a Residential Utility Billing System Formula to divide utility payments among tenants.
3. This act shall take effect the first day of the fourth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that a landlord, as defined in the bill, may not charge a residential tenant using a shared meter with a fee separate from rent for water, electric, or gas utility use unless the landlord provides each tenant with information demonstrating that the charge is split either equally among the units served by the meter, or split though the use of a Residential Utility Billing System Formula that applies square footage or the number of tenants in the unit, or both, to determine utility payments. The bill provides that, if a shared meter includes utility consumption in common areas shared among tenants, the landlord may split the utility charges for the common areas equally among the tenants.
The bill directs the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt rules and regulations, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, to effectuate the provisions of the bill, on or before the first day of the fourth month following the bill's enactment. The bill is to take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment.
