HOUSE FILE 2153

BY  ISENHART, KELLEY, and WESSEL-KROESCHELL

A BILL FOR

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

    Section 1.  Section 476.56, Code 2011, 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.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  476.56A  Energy cost disclosure statements —— rental property.
   1.  As used in this section, “dwelling unit”, “landlord”, “rental agreement”, “rental deposit”, and “tenant” mean the same as defined in section 562A.6. In addition, “landlord” shall include any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on the landlord’s behalf.
   2.  A prospective tenant who would be responsible for the payment of gas or electric energy costs with respect to the lease or rental of residential real property, or an existing tenant currently responsible for the payment of such costs, has the right to obtain the amount of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption for the dwelling unit for the preceding twelve-month period from the landlord based upon information supplied at no charge from the public utility furnishing gas or electric service. The amount of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption shall be provided on a disclosure statement developed pursuant to subsection 3 and furnished by the landlord either to a prospective tenant expressing interest in entering into a rental agreement, or upon request by an existing tenant subject to such an agreement.
   3.  The office of the consumer advocate shall develop an energy cost disclosure form for utilization by landlords in complying with this section. The form shall contain space for the disclosure of the annual amount of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption, and shall also include a representative list of energy efficiency standards incorporating features or upgrades which 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. The office of the consumer advocate and local housing authorities responsible for the issuance of residential rental property permits shall post and maintain the recommended standards required by this section, and detailed information on how to comply with the standards, on an internet site maintained by the office and an internet site maintained by or on behalf of the local housing authority.
   4.  Before a prospective tenant enters into a rental agreement or pays a rental deposit with respect to a dwelling unit, the landlord shall obtain the prospective tenant’s signature on the disclosure statement, and sign the statement. The statement shall be retained by the landlord for a minimum of three years.
   5.  The board, in consultation with the office of the consumer advocate, shall adopt rules to administer this section.
   6.  In addition to any other remedy available pursuant to chapter 562A, upon receipt of a complaint filed by a prospective tenant or tenant that the provisions of this section are not being complied with, a local entity with regulatory authority shall suspend the rental license for any unit for which an energy disclosure statement is not provided upon expiration of a seven-day period following notification to the landlord of the complaint. In this event the tenant shall be entitled to a return of all prepaid rent and security. A processing fee may be assessed by the local authority for reinstated licenses.
    Sec. 3.  Section 562A.13, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4A.  The landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on the landlord’s behalf shall comply with the provisions of section 476.56A with regard to energy cost disclosure forms for utility rates, charges, and services to be paid by the tenant directly to the utility company. 
    Sec. 4.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to rental agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2013.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to the disclosure of energy costs to tenants and prospective tenants of residential dwelling units.
   The bill modifies provisions of existing Code section 465.56, relating to the provision of energy costs upon request by a gas or electric utility 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 thereof.
   The bill establishes a new Code section 476.56A relating to the provision of energy cost disclosure statements in connection with rental property. The bill provides that a prospective tenant who would be responsible for the payment of gas or electric energy costs with respect to the lease or rental of residential real property, or an existing tenant currently responsible for the payment of such costs, has the right to obtain the amount of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption for the dwelling unit for the preceding 12-month period from the landlord based upon information supplied at no charge from the public utility furnishing gas or electric service.
   The bill provides that the energy cost information will be provided on a disclosure statement furnished by the landlord utilizing a form developed by the office of consumer advocate. The bill specifies that the form shall contain space for the disclosure of the annual amount of energy consumption and the cost of that consumption, and shall also include a representative list of energy efficiency standards incorporating features or upgrades which a dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part might conceivably exhibit or offer. The office is directed to develop the list of energy efficiency standards in consultation with state and federal energy efficiency agencies and experts. The list shall be accompanied by a space for notation by the landlord indicating whether or not the unit or building meets or exceeds each standard. The bill provides that the office of the consumer advocate and local housing authorities responsible for the issuance of residential rental property permits shall post and maintain the recommended standards, and detailed information on how to comply with them, on an internet site maintained by the office and the local housing authority.
   The bill provides that prior to a prospective tenant entering into a rental agreement or paying a rental deposit with respect to a dwelling unit, the landlord shall obtain the prospective tenant’s signature on the disclosure statement, and sign the statement. The landlord is required to retain the statement for a minimum of three years.
   The bill directs the Iowa utilities board, in consultation with the office of the consumer advocate, to adopt rules to administer the bill’s provisions. The bill states that in addition to any other remedy available pursuant to Code chapter 562A (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act), upon receipt of a complaint filed by a prospective or existing tenant that the bill’s provisions are not being complied with, a local housing authority shall suspend the rental license for any unit for which an energy disclosure statement is not provided upon expiration of a seven-day period following notification to the landlord of the complaint. In this event, the bill states that a tenant shall be entitled to the return of all prepaid rent and any security deposit. A processing fee may be assessed by the local authority for reinstated licenses.
   The bill amends Code section 562A.13, regarding required landlord disclosures to tenants, to require that a landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on the landlord’s behalf complies with the bill’s provisions with regard to energy cost disclosure forms for utility rates, charges, and services to be paid by a tenant directly to a utility company.
   The bill references existing definitions of “dwelling unit”, “landlord”, “rental agreement”, “rental deposit”, and “tenant” as meaning the same as defined in Code section 562A.6, and adds that “landlord” shall include any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on the landlord’s behalf.
   The bill’s provisions are applicable to rental agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2013.