HF 2060 (LSB 5445YH (2) 86)

HOUSE FILE 2060

BY  ISENHART

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to utility cost disclosures in connection with rental properties, providing penalties, and including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 476.56, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   476.56  Energy costs provided.
   A gas or electric public utility shall provide, upon the request of a person who states in writing that the person is an owner of real property, or an interested prospective purchaser or renter of the property, which is or has been receiving gas or electric service from the public utility, the annual gas or electric energy costs for the property.  A gas or electric public utility and, notwithstanding section 476.1, subsection 5, a public utility furnishing water or sewer service, shall comply with the utility service cost disclosure provisions of section 562A.13A with regard to existing or prospective renters of real property.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  562A.13A  Utility service cost disclosure statements —— penalty.
   1.  In addition to the required disclosure provisions of section 562A.13, the landlord or a person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on behalf of the landlord shall disclose to a prospective tenant in writing at or before the commencement of the tenancy, and to an existing tenant at any point during the tenancy, the gas, electric, water, or sewer utility service costs for a dwelling unit. Utility service costs shall be provided with respect to a dwelling unit for the preceding twelve-month period based upon information obtained at no charge by the landlord or person authorized to enter into the rental agreement from the utility furnishing utility service, pursuant to an energy cost disclosure statement developed pursuant to subsection 2. In the event that utility service has been provided for a period of less than one year, cost information shall be provided for the period beginning when utility service commenced. In the event of new construction, utility service cost information from similar dwelling units in similar properties may be obtained in writing from a utility and supplied to a prospective tenant, or in the alternative a landlord may obtain a written estimate of anticipated utility service costs from a utility or an energy consultant.
   2.  The office of consumer advocate shall develop the format of an energy cost disclosure statement for utilization by landlords in complying with this section. The format developed shall include space for the disclosure of the annual utility service costs, and shall also include space for a representative list of energy efficiency standards incorporating features or upgrades that a dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part might conceivably exhibit or offer. The list of energy efficiency standards shall be developed by the office of the consumer advocate, in consultation with state and federal energy efficiency agencies and experts, and shall be accompanied by a space for notation by the landlord indicating whether or not the unit or building meets or exceeds each standard.
   3.  A landlord who fails to comply with the requirements of this section upon receipt of a written notice by a tenant or a prospective tenant that utility service costs have not been disclosed shall have seven days from the date of receipt of the notice to provide the required utility service cost disclosure statement. A landlord who fails to provide the disclosure statement within the seven-day period or who enters into a rental agreement with a tenant without first disclosing utility service costs on a disclosure statement or who misrepresents utility service costs on a disclosure statement, shall be subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars. Such penalty shall be imposed by the office of consumer advocate or pursuant to a civil proceeding regarding recovery of damages by a tenant for nondisclosure, and shall be remitted to the division of community action agencies for deposit into the energy crisis fund created in section 216A.102.
    Sec. 3.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to rental agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2017.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to utility cost disclosure requirements in connection with rental properties.
   The bill modifies provisions of Code section 476.56, relating to the provision of energy costs by a gas or electric utility upon request with regard to the purchase or rental of real property, to provide that the Code section refers to ownership or prospective ownership of real property, not the rental or prospective rental of the property.
   The bill establishes new Code section 562A.13A within the uniform residential landlord and tenant law provisions of Code chapter 562A requiring that a landlord or a person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on behalf of the landlord shall disclose to a prospective tenant in writing at or before the commencement of the tenancy, or to an existing tenant at any point during the tenancy, the gas, electric, water, or sewer utility service costs for a dwelling unit. The bill specifies that the utility service costs shall be provided with respect to a dwelling unit for the preceding 12-month period, or for the period beginning when utility service commenced if less than one year, based upon information obtained at no charge by the landlord or person authorized to enter into the rental agreement from the utility furnishing utility service. In the event of new construction, the bill requires utility service cost information from similar dwelling units in similar properties to be obtained in writing from a utility and supplied to a prospective tenant, or in the alternative a landlord may obtain a written estimate of anticipated utility service costs from a utility or an energy consultant.
   The bill directs the office of consumer advocate to develop an energy cost disclosure statement for utilization by landlords, containing space for the disclosure of the utility service costs and also including space for a representative list of energy efficiency standards incorporating features or upgrades that a dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part might conceivably exhibit or offer. The bill provides that the list of energy efficiency standards shall be developed by the office in consultation with state and federal energy efficiency agencies and experts and shall be accompanied by a space for the landlord to indicate whether or not the unit or building meets or exceeds each standard.
   The bill provides that a landlord who fails to supply the required utility service cost disclosure statement upon receipt of a written notice by a tenant or a prospective tenant shall have seven days from the date of receipt of the notice to provide the required disclosure statement. If a landlord fails to provide the disclosure statement within the seven-day period, or enters into a rental agreement with a tenant without first disclosing utility service costs or misrepresents utility service costs on a disclosure statement, the bill provides that the landlord shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500. The penalty shall be imposed by the office of consumer advocate or pursuant to a civil proceeding regarding recovery of damages by a tenant for nondisclosure, and shall be remitted to the division of community action agencies for deposit into the energy crisis fund created in Code section 216A.102. 
   The bill applies to rental agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2017.