(a) If an electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation furnishes residential service to residential occupants through a master meter in a multiunit residential structure, mobilehome park, or permanent residential structure in a labor camp, as defined in Section 17008 of the Health and Safety Code, and the owner, manager, or operator of the structure or park is listed by the corporation as the customer of record, the corporation shall make every good faith effort to inform the residential occupants, by means of a written notice posted on the door of each residential unit at least 15 days prior to termination, when the account is in arrears, that service will be terminated on a date specified in the notice. If it is not reasonable or practicable to post the notice on the door of each residential unit, the corporation shall post two copies of the notice in each accessible common area and at each point of access to the structure or structures. The notice shall further inform the residential occupants that they have the right to become customers, to whom the service will then be billed, without being required to pay any amount which may be due on the delinquent account. The notice also shall specify, in plain language, what the residential occupants are required to do in order to prevent the termination of, or to reestablish service; the estimated monthly cost of service; the title, address, and telephone number of a representative of the corporation who can assist the residential occupants in continuing service; and the address and telephone number of a qualified legal services project, as defined in Section 6213 of the Business and Professions Code, which has been recommended by the local county bar association. The notice shall be in English and the languages listed in Section 1632 of the Civil Code. (b) The corporation is not required to make service available to the residential occupants unless each residential occupant or a representative of the residential occupants agrees to the terms and conditions of service and meets the requirements of law and the corporationâs rules and tariffs. However, if one or more of the residential occupants or the representative of the residential occupants are willing and able to assume responsibility for subsequent charges to the account to the satisfaction of the corporation, or if there is a physical means, legally available to the corporation, of selectively terminating service to those residential occupants who have not met the requirements of the corporationâs rules and tariffs or for whom the representative of the residential occupants is not responsible, the corporation shall make service available to those residential occupants who have met those requirements or on whose behalf those requirements have been met. (c) If prior service for a period of time or other demonstration of credit worthiness is a condition for establishing credit with the corporation, residence and proof of prompt payment of rent or other credit obligation during that period of time acceptable to the corporation is a satisfactory equivalent. (d) Any residential occupant who becomes a customer of the corporation pursuant to this section whose periodic payments, such as rental payments, include charges for residential electrical, gas, heat, or water service, where those charges are not separately stated, may deduct from the periodic payment each payment period all reasonable charges paid to the corporation for those services during the preceding payment period. (e) If a corporation furnishes residential service subject to subdivision (a), the corporation shall not terminate that service in any of the following situations: (1) During the pendency of an investigation by the corporation of a customer dispute or complaint. (2) If the customer has been granted an extension of the period for payment of a bill. (3) For an indebtedness owed by the customer to any other person or corporation or if the obligation represente
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.