Read first time 01/11/10.   Referred to Committee on Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance.

     AN ACT Relating to utility services collections against rental property; and amending RCW 35.21.217 and 35.21.290.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 35.21.217 and 1998 c 285 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Prior to furnishing utility services, a city or town may require a deposit to guarantee payment for services. However, failure to require a deposit does not affect the validity of any lien authorized by RCW 35.21.290 or 35.67.200. A city or town may determine how to apply partial payments on past due accounts.
     (2) A city or town may provide a real property owner or the owner's designee with duplicates of tenant utility service bills, or may notify an owner or the owner's designee that a tenant's utility account is delinquent. However, if an owner or the owner's designee notifies the city or town in writing that a property served by the city or town is a residential rental property, asks to be notified of a tenant's delinquency, and has provided, in writing, a complete and accurate mailing address, the city or town shall notify the owner or the owner's designee of a residential tenant's delinquency at the same time and in the same manner the city or town notifies the tenant of the tenant's delinquency or by mail, and the city or town is prohibited from collecting from the owner or the owner's designee any charges for electric light or power services more than four months past due. When a city or town provides a real property owner or the owner's designee with duplicates of residential tenant utility service bills or notice that a tenant's utility account is delinquent, the city or town shall notify the tenant that it is providing the duplicate bills or delinquency notice to the owner or the owner's designee.
     (3) After ((January 1, 1999)) August 1, 2010, if a city or town fails to notify the owner of a tenant's delinquency after receiving a written request to do so and after receiving the other information required by this subsection, the city or town shall have no lien against the premises for the residential tenant's delinquent and unpaid charges and is prohibited from collecting the tenant's delinquent and unpaid charges for electric light or power services from the owner or the owner's designee.
     (4) When a utility account is in a tenant's name, the owner or the owner's designee shall notify the city or town in writing within fourteen days of the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises. If the owner or the owner's designee fails to provide this notice, a city or town providing electric light or power services is not limited to collecting only up to four months of a tenant's delinquent charges from the owner or the owner's designee, provided that the city or town has complied with the notification requirements of subsection (3) of this section.
     (5)(a) If an occupied multiple residential rental unit receives utility service through a single utility account, if the utility account's billing address is not the same as the service address of a residential rental property, or if the city or town has been notified that a tenant resides at the service address, the city or town shall make a good faith and reasonable effort to provide written notice to the service address of pending disconnection of electric power and light or water service for nonpayment at least seven calendar days prior to disconnection. The purpose of this notice is to provide any affected tenant an opportunity to resolve the delinquency with his or her landlord or to arrange for continued service. If requested, a city or town shall provide electric power and light or water services to an affected tenant on the same terms and conditions as other residential utility customers, without requiring that he or she pay delinquent amounts for services billed directly to the property owner or a previous tenant except as otherwise allowed by law and only where the city or town offers the opportunity for the affected tenant to set up a reasonable payment plan for the delinquent amounts legally due. If a landlord fails to pay for electric power and light or water services, any tenant who requests that the services be placed in his or her name may deduct from the rent due all reasonable charges paid by the tenant to the city or town for such services. A landlord may not take or threaten to take reprisals or retaliatory action as defined in RCW 59.18.240 against a tenant who deducts from his or her rent payments made to a city or town as provided in this subsection.
     (b) Nothing in this subsection (5) affects the validity of any lien authorized by RCW 35.21.290 or 35.67.200. Furthermore, a city or town that provides electric power and light or water services to a residential tenant in these circumstances shall retain the right to collect from the property owner, previous tenant, or both, any delinquent amounts due for service previously provided to the service address if the city or town has complied with the notification requirements of subsection (3) of this section when applicable.

Sec. 2   RCW 35.21.290 and 1965 c 7 s 35.21.290 are each amended to read as follows:
     Except as provided in RCW 35.21.217(4), cities and towns owning their own waterworks, or electric light or power plants shall have a lien against the premises to which water, electric light, or power services were furnished for four months charges therefor due or to become due, but not for any charges more than four months past due((: PROVIDED, That the owner of the premises or the owner of a delinquent mortgage thereon may give written notice to the superintendent or other head of such works or plant to cut off service to such premises accompanied by payment or tender of payment of the then delinquent and unpaid charges for such service against the premises together with the cut-off charge, whereupon the city or town shall have no lien against the premises for charges for such service thereafter furnished, nor shall the owner of the premises or the owner of a delinquent mortgage thereon be held for the payment thereof)).