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Submetered water billing rules by state (TX, CA, OR, WA, FL)

By · Published March 24, 2026 · 10 min read

Every state that lets you bill tenants for water agrees on one thing: you bill what it cost you, not a penny more. That is the no-markup rule, and it is close to universal. Where states differ is the fine print, like whether you can add a small fee, what has to appear on the bill, and what you owe tenants before you start.

This is a plain rundown for five big manufactured-housing states. It is not legal advice, and these rules change, so confirm the current version for your state before you bill.

The rule they all share

Before the state details, hold onto the thread that runs through all of them:

Bill at cost. Take the utility's charge and pass it through by measured use. No profit.

Itemize and keep the reads. Show the prior read, the current read, the rate, and the service period, and keep the meter records. Tenants can question a bill, and the itemized read is your answer.

If you remember only those two ideas, you are most of the way to compliant in any state. Now the specifics.

Texas: register first, no markup, and tenants can audit

Texas is the most procedural of the five, and the one with a real gate in front of billing.

Register before you bill. An owner who submeters or allocates water and wastewater has to register with the Public Utility Commission before sending bills. This is a step, not a formality. Billing before you register puts you offside from the first invoice.

No markup. Your charges may only pass through the retail utility's water and wastewater charges. You cannot add a margin.

What the bill must show. The tenant's name and address, the charges, the due date, a clear statement that the bill is not from the retail utility, and a contact for disputes. Tenants also have the right to request your records and audit the charge, so keep clean reads.

One point worth correcting, because owners get it wrong: Texas used to let an overcharged tenant recover three times the overcharge plus a penalty. The Legislature amended the law in 2017. Treble damages are gone, the Commission now has authority over these disputes, and the usual remedy is repayment of the amount overcharged. That is easier to live with, but it is not a reason to be sloppy. Register, bill at cost, and keep your reads.

California: separate the charge, and mind the small-fee cap

California's Mobilehome Residency Law is specific about what goes on the bill and what you may add.

Under Civil Code 798.40, a submeter or master-meter charge has to be separately stated with the readings behind it. California does allow a small administrative or billing fee on top of the usage charge, but it is capped at the lesser of $4.75 or 25% of the usage charge. That is the ceiling, not a target.

Under Civil Code 798.41, if you unbundle a utility that used to be inside the rent, you have to reduce the rent dollar-for-dollar by the prior twelve months' average cost of that utility for the space. You cannot keep the old rent and add the water charge on top.

California also has the Water Shutoff Protection Act, SB 998, for larger water systems (more than 200 connections). It requires you to wait until an account is at least 60 days delinquent before shutoff, give notice and a chance to appeal, cap reconnection fees for low-income households, and notify residents if the park itself falls behind on its water bill. Even if your park is smaller, the spirit of it is a good standard.

Oregon: no profit, a detailed bill, and a trial period

Oregon spells out both the billing and the switch.

No profit, no admin markup. Under the manufactured-dwelling utility statutes, you may not make a profit on the utility or pass along your own administrative expenses. It is pure pass-through.

A detailed bill. The water charge is stated separately, wastewater is billed as a percentage of water, and sewer is pro-rated, each with a due date. A charge is not late until at least 7 days after the bill is delivered, so build that grace into your calendar.

A required switch process. Before you convert billing methods, Oregon Revised Statute 90.574 requires at least one month of written notice, a tenant meeting with a sample bill, and a trial where the first three billing periods run as mock bills. Residents see the numbers before any real charge hits. Skip the trial and you have skipped a legal step.

Washington: bill only actual cost, and disclose it

Washington's Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act keeps this simple.

The core rule is RCW 59.20.070(6): a landlord may not charge a tenant a utility fee greater than the actual utility cost. Pure pass-through, again.

RCW 59.20.060 requires the rental agreement to disclose which utilities the tenant pays, and if you pull a utility out of the rent, the rent has to drop to match. Washington does not dictate a detailed bill format the way Texas or Oregon do, but the no-markup and disclosure rules still bind, so itemize anyway. A clear bill protects you whether or not the state prints a format.

Florida: no resale above the utility's rate

Florida's Mobile Home Act, Statute 723.045, says a park owner cannot charge more for reselling electricity, gas, or water than the public utility charged. For water specifically, you may add maintenance costs you actually incurred plus administrative costs, which is a little more room than the strict no-profit states give. The rule does not apply where a park is already regulated as a utility by the Public Service Commission or under a county water ordinance, so check which bucket your park falls in.

How to use this page: find your state, then confirm three things before you bill: can you add any fee or is it strict cost, do you have to register or run a trial first, and what has to appear on the bill. Get those three right and the rest follows.

The habits that keep you clean in any state

The states differ, but good practice does not. Bill at cost. Itemize the read, the rate, and the period. Keep the meter records so a tenant can verify. Run any required registration or trial before the first real bill. Reduce rent when you unbundle a utility that used to be included.

Do those, and you are compliant in the strict states and better than required in the loose ones.

Our free submeter water-bill calculator does the per-tenant math from a prior read, a current read, and your rate. If you are moving off formula billing, see our guide on switching your park from RUBS to submeters, which walks the conversion step by step.

Lot Sidekick itemizes each tenant's water at your utility's rate with no markup, files the reads for you, and puts the water line right on the bill next to rent. You can do all of it by hand with the calculator and a spreadsheet. The state rules above are the same regardless of the tool.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Utility-billing rules vary by state and change over time. Confirm the current rules for your state with a local attorney who knows manufactured-housing law before 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.