Section 12822.6 Of Article 5. Utility Works And Service From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 6. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 5.
12822.6
. (a) The decision of a district to require a new
residential applicant to deposit a sum of money with the district
prior to establishing an account and furnishing service shall be
based solely upon the creditworthiness of the applicant as determined
by the district.
(b) No municipal utility district 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 district may collect a deposit from the tenant
service applicant prior to establishing an account for the tenant.
The district 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
district refuse to furnish services to a tenant in the tenant's name
based on the nonpayment of charges by a previous tenant.
(c) A district 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.