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Florida water billing for parks: the 9% cap and 1-year clock

By · Published April 21, 2026 · Updated July 23, 2026 · 7 min read

Florida governs park utility billing from two directions: Chapter 723 (the mobile-home lot tenancy law) controls what you can pass on to homeowners and how, and Chapter 367 (the utility law) decides whether your reselling of water stays exempt from Public Service Commission regulation. Stay inside both and billing tenants for water is straightforward.

Part of our state-by-state series — submetered water billing rules by state. Other states: Texas · California · Oregon · Washington

The short version: resell water at what the park paid (plus, for water, actual maintenance and admin costs — or up to 9% for meter reading and billing under the PSC exemption), disclose the arrangement in your prospectus, and pass charges on within a year of paying them.

Utility charges ride inside the "lot rental amount"

Florida folds utility charges into the defined "lot rental amount" (§723.003). Section 723.031(5) then gives park owners a real tool: utility charges (and increases in them) may be passed on to homeowners even mid-term — provided the charge isn't already baked into rent, and passing it on was disclosed before the tenancy, was the established custom, or is authorized by law. That's why your prospectus disclosure (§723.012) matters so much: it must say how utilities are provided and billed. A water charge that never appeared in the prospectus or rental agreement is a charge you may not be able to collect.

Three limits come with the pass-on right, and each one catches owners:

The at-cost rule (§723.045 and the PSC exemptions)

A park owner who buys water for resale to residents may not charge more than the park itself was charged — with one water-specific allowance: actual maintenance and administrative costs actually incurred. Separately, Chapter 367 keeps a reselling park out of PSC rate regulation as long as it resells at no more than the purchase price (§367.022(8)), or at purchase price plus the actual cost of meter reading and billing capped at 9% of the cost of service (§367.022(9)). Price the water like a profit center and you don't just have a tenant dispute — you've potentially made yourself a regulated utility.

Submeters and RUBS in Florida

Both submetering and formula (RUBS) billing are used in Florida parks under the framework above — the rules constrain the price (at cost, capped allowances), not the method. Two cautions: put the method in the prospectus and rental agreement, and check your county before you rely on RUBS — some Florida counties and utility authorities restrict allocation billing or add their own submetering requirements. Submeters remain the cleaner answer: each homeowner pays for measured use, and the water submeter calculator does the reads-to-bill math at cost. Still splitting a master bill? The RUBS calculator holds back a park share first.

Common Florida mistakes

For how Florida compares to the other big park states, start at the state-by-state overview, and see how to bill tenants for water the legal way for the fundamentals.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. County rules can be stricter than the state's — confirm yours (and your prospectus language) with a Florida park attorney before you change how you bill.

Lot Sidekick itemizes submetered water on every bill automatically. Your manager keys the reads from a phone and each tenant is billed at cost. Send your spreadsheet and I'll set up your park, or see the live demo, or call (425) 405-0734.