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AWA, landlord in billing dispute

A local landlord is contesting an aspect of the Altoona Water Authority’s recently adopted policy of billing only residential property owners — not their tenants — for water and sewer service.

Autumn Temple alleges that the policy is unfair to landlords like her whose tenants are responsible for paying their water bills, because under the new policy, the authority doesn’t shut off service when those tenants don’t pay.

After she recently dealt with a tenant who didn’t pay his water bill, Temple pleaded with the authority to shut off his water, because the tenant also had failed to pay another bill that led to the house being without heat, which in turn led to burst water pipes that were causing damage to her property, she said.

The authority declined to shut the water off, citing its new policy, she said.

Evicting the tenant wasn’t a reasonable option because of the time-consuming legal hurdles involved, she said.

The Utility Service Tenants Rights Act provides the means by which the authority could have shut off the water, but the authority declined to exercise that power, she said.

The law is actually designed to protect tenants whose leases call for the landlord to pay the utilities.

The law requires that utilities in such cases notify tenants of impending shutoffs, giving tenants a chance to pay the most recent month’s bill and allowing them to deduct those payments from their rental obligations.

If the tenants don’t take advantage of that opportunity, the utility company can then shut off service.

Temple’s situation was dissimilar to that envisioned by the law, in that her lease called for the tenant to pay, and her tenant wasn’t planning to pay the bill, according to information provided by Temple.

The authority is under no obligation, because it’s not dealing with the situation in a way that intersects with it, according to authority officials.

“If we were pursuing termination of service when the tenant is involved, then the act kicks in,” said General Manager Mark Perry. “But we were not.”

Instead of using the threat of shut offs to incentivize payment for residential rentals, the authority is now using liens, according to Perry and Billing Director Ron Becher.

Those can generate payment when properties are sold, as a buyer can’t obtain clear title without the liens being cleared, according to Becher.

Generally, sellers clear such liens at settlement.

The authority is exploring other potential methods of collection in residential rental cases, according to Becher.

The authority adopted the policy of billing only residential landlords and not their tenants in July 2021 to eliminate administrative problems connected with tenant billing, authority officials have said.

Temple isn’t appeased, although she concedes that the authority wasn’t legally obligated to do what she asked.

She’s planning to speak with city Mayor Matt Pacifico about the issue, and she has contacted the state Attorney General’s Office and may contact a lawyer, she said.

It’s inconsistent of the authority not to shut off delinquent tenants when it continues to shut off service to owner-occupied dwellings whose owners don’t pay, Temple said.

It’s also inconsistent of the authority to eliminate tenant billing for residential properties but not commercial properties, she said.

The authority hasn’t eliminated tenant billing for commercial properties because those kinds haven’t created administrative problems, Becher said.

Temple isn’t pursuing the issue to obtain another tool for eviction, she said — pointing out that the Utility Service Tenants Rights Act is intended specifically as a protection against that.

She uses leases that make tenants responsible for water bills to encourage them to conserve, she said.

Otherwise, they might fill up a swimming pool, she suggested.

The new authority policy is one of many issues that make the residential rental business more and more difficult, helping to diminish the number of affordable properties available in the area, Temple said.

She often rents to low-income families, she said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.

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