Apportionment of Utility Costs (RTA)

O. Reg. 394/10: SUITE METERS AND APPORTIONMENT OF UTILITY COSTS

13. (1) The following rules apply if, under subsection 138 (1) of the Act, a landlord of a building containing not more than six rental units who supplies a utility to each of the rental units in the building charges the tenant a portion of the cost of the utility:

1. Subject to paragraph 2, the portion of the cost to be charged to the tenant for a billing period must be determined in accordance with a method described in subsection (2) or (3).

2. If the cost is being apportioned among tenants in more than one rental unit, the portion of the cost apportioned to each of those rental units must be determined using the same method.

3. The rules set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply with respect to a particular utility if, immediately before the date on which subsection 138 (1) of the Act comes into force, the landlord was charging any tenant in the building a portion of the cost of that utility. O. Reg. 394/10, s. 13 (1).

(2) The cost of the utility may be apportioned to a rental unit by dividing the total cost of the utility for all of the residential units in the building and the related common areas for each billing period by the number of residential units in the building. O. Reg. 394/10, s. 13 (2).

(3) The cost of the utility may be apportioned to a rental unit by dividing the total cost of the utility for all of the residential units in the building and the related common areas for each billing period by the total square footage of all residential units in the building, and multiplying the resulting amount by the square footage of the applicable tenant’s rental unit. O. Reg. 394/10, s. 13 (3).

(4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), the total cost of the utility does not include any penalties or charges related to late payment. O. Reg. 394/10, s. 13 (4).