Three Maryland water-bill protections that start October 1

When the submeter provides accurate data, your unit's water charge must be allocated in proportion to your unit's measured use. Common-area water and building-responsible leaks cannot be put on your unit.

The building can pass through the water provider's actual charges, allocated by unit use. The added administrative and billing service charge is capped at $1 per unit per month. The cap applies to the added service charge only, not the water charge itself.

If the submeter stops giving accurate readings, a limited three-month average can be used at first. If the submeter stays unrepaired for two consecutive billing cycles, the building must stop billing that unit until it is repaired or replaced.

If the landlord requires water payments to a third party, the lease must say so, and the bill must reach you at least 20 days before it is due.

Before your first lease under that setup, you must receive two years of prior water and sewer costs for the unit, or costs for a similar-size unit when no history exists.

This law covers Maryland apartment properties with more than two dwelling units, and mobile home parks, when the property bills your unit through an individual water submeter.

It does not cover a utility's direct meter, so it does not apply if you pay a water utility like WSSC directly. It does not require any building to install submeters, and it does not mean every Maryland renter will start receiving a separate water bill.