Q: I just moved into a luxury apartment in downtown Minneapolis, and it's been anything but luxury. When I came to look at the unit a month before I moved in, the leasing agent told me I needed to get the electrical service in my name, get renters insurance and that was all.
I did that, but two months after I moved in, I received a bill from a third-party utility company for $390. Apparently this place divides up the gas, water, sewage and trash, then each tenant pays a certain amount. I was never even told about this bill, let alone the approximate amount of the monthly bill.
As of July, they are now adding the bill to the actual amount of rent due each month and they won't take partial payments. Since I haven't made that payment, I just received a letter of intent to evict. Is this legal?
A: Landlords are required to outline those utilities that tenants must pay in the lease. Under Minnesota law, a landlord can apportion utility payments among their tenants' apartments and either include the utility costs in the apartment's rent or bill for utility charges separate from rent.
However, when the landlord does a separate utility billing from rent in a single-meter building, as in your case, there are conditions they need to follow in order to legally do so.
First, they must provide prospective tenants with notice of the total utility cost for the building for each month of the most recent calendar year. Second, the landlord must state in writing how they will fairly split up the total utility bill and how often the landlord will bill the tenant for utilities.
Your landlord also must include in your lease a provision stating that if a tenant requests to see the bill, the landlord must provide a copy of the actual utility bill for the building along with each apportioned utility bill. If a tenant requests past copies of utility bills, the landlord must provide the actual utility bill for any period in which their tenant received an apportioned utility bill.
Also, if a tenant requests it, the landlord must provide past copies of utility bills for the prior two years or from the time the current landlord acquired the building, whichever is most recent. Lastly, by Sept. 30 of each year, a landlord of a single-metered residential building, who bills for gas and electric utility charges separate from rent, must inform their tenants in writing of the possible availability of energy assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and provide the toll-free phone number of the administering agency.
Based on your question, your landlord may or may not have followed the necessary steps for utility billing in a single-metered residential building. You should review your written lease to determine if the necessary steps mentioned above were followed by your landlord and you just overlooked that lease provision since it wasn't pointed out by the leasing agent. If the necessary provision is in your lease, you should speak to your landlord and let them know you weren't aware of it, that important provision wasn't mentioned by their leasing agent which is misleading, and you would like to work out a payment plan or some other compromise.
If your landlord did not follow the requirements for utility billing in a single-meter building and the necessary provision isn't in your lease, then it is a violation of Minnesota law and you should let them know. If you cannot work out an agreement with your landlord, you could contact HOMELine, a tenants' rights organization, at 612-728-5767 or by email at homelinemn.org/e-mail-an-attorney/ for further assistance.
Kelly Klein is a Minneapolis attorney. Participation in this column does not create an attorney/client relationship with Klein. Do not rely on advice in this column for legal opinions. Consult an attorney regarding your particular issues. E-mail renting questions to kklein@kleinpa.com. Information provided by readers is not confidential.
