prohibited; Notice of change in payment arrangement. (a) No landlord shall rent or cause to be rented any unit in which the tenant is responsible by agreement, implication, or otherwise for direct payment for utility service to the utility company and in which the utility company billing for that service includes any service to common areas of the building or other units or areas used or occupied by persons other than the individual tenant and those occupying the unit with the tenant on the utility account, unless, before offering an initial lease or a renewal lease, accepting a security deposit, or otherwise entering into an agreement with the prospective tenant to let the premises: (1) The landlord provides the prospective tenant with a written statement setting forth the specific areas of the building and any appurtenances that are served by the meter that will be in the tenant's name and the nature of the utility uses of those areas, including any that have not been reflected in past utility company billings but that may arise (such as the rental of a neighboring unit that has been vacant, the installation of washers and driers in the basement, or the use of the garage for mechanics); (2) The landlord provides the prospective tenant with copies of the utility bills for the unit for the previous 12 months, unless waived by the tenant in writing; (3) The landlord neither suggests nor requires the tenant to collect any money for utility bills from neighboring tenants whose utility usage will be reflected in the prospective tenant's utility company billings; and (4) The landlord sets forth in writing the amount of the proposed rent reduction, if any, that is offered to compensate for the tenant's payments for utility usage outside of the tenant's unit. (b) No landlord shall request or cause to be effected a change (i) from landlord-paid master metered utilities to tenant-paid individually metered utilities or (ii) from landlord-paid to tenant-paid utilities, regardless of the metering arrangement, during the term of a lease. The landlord shall provide a minimum of 30 days notice to each affected tenant before effecting such a change in service; for tenants under a lease, the notice shall be provided to the tenants no less than 30 days before the expiration of the lease term. This subsection does not prohibit the landlord and tenant from agreeing to amend the lease to effect such a change; the amendment must be in writing and subscribed by both parties. (c) Any term or condition in a rental agreement between the landlord and the tenant that is inconsistent with this Section is void and unenforceable. (d) Nothing in this Section affects the relationship between a utility company and its customers. a written statement setting forth the specific areas of the building and any appurtenances that are served by the meter that will be in the tenant's name and the nature of the utility uses of those areas, including any that have not been reflected in past utility company billings but that may arise (such as the rental of a neighboring unit that has been vacant, the installation of washers and driers in the basement, or the use of the garage for mechanics); copies of the utility bills for the unit for the previous 12 months, unless waived by the tenant in writing; tenant to collect any money for utility bills from neighboring tenants whose utility usage will be reflected in the prospective tenant's utility company billings; and the proposed rent reduction, if any, that is offered to compensate for the tenant's payments for utility usage outside of the tenant's unit.
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