Section 10009.6 Of Article 1. Acquisition And Operation From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 5. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
10009.6
. (a) The decision of a public utility to require a new
residential applicant to deposit a sum of money with the public
utility prior to establishing an account and furnishing service shall
be based solely upon the creditworthiness of the applicant as
determined by the public utility.
(b) No municipal corporation owning or operating a public utility
furnishing services for residential use to a tenant under an account
established by the tenant shall seek to recover any charges or
penalties for the furnishing of services to, or for the tenant's
residential use from, any subsequent tenant or the property owner due
to nonpayment of charges by a previous tenant. For this purpose, the
term "subsequent tenant" shall not include any adult person who
lived at the residence during the period that the charges or
penalties accrued. The municipal corporation may collect a deposit
from the tenant service applicant prior to establishing an account
for the tenant. The municipal corporation may not require that
service to subsequent tenants be furnished on the account of the
landlord or property owner unless the property owner voluntarily
agrees to that requirement, nor may the municipal corporation refuse
to furnish services to a tenant in the tenant's name based upon the
nonpayment of charges by a previous tenant.
(c) A public utility subject to this section may not demand or
receive security in an amount that exceeds twice the estimated
average periodic bill or three times the estimated average monthly
bill.
(d) In the event of tenant nonpayment of all or a portion of the
bill, the deposit shall be applied to the final bill issued when
service is terminated.
(e) This section shall not apply to master-metered apartment
buildings.