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Tenants and advocates press for stronger rules on RUBS and utility fee transparency
Summary
Tenant advocates and the Office of the Attorney General urged the Committee on Housing to adopt the TRUE Act to force earlier, clearer disclosures about ratio utility billing systems (RUBS), limit junk fees, and give tenants remedies; landlords warned of administrative costs but OAG and advocates argued disclosure is feasible and already required bills exist.
Tenant advocates, legal aid groups and the Office of the Attorney General pressed the Committee on Housing to adopt the Transparent Rates and Utility Expenses Amendment Act (TRUE Act) at a March 30 hearing. Kevin Vermillion, director of OAG's Office of Consumer Protection, told the committee that OAG received roughly 780 complaints about tenant billing practices since 2022 and that nearly 300 of them concerned RUBS (ratio utility billing systems).
"The TRUE Act's protections make affordability more than a buzzword by creating clear requirements for housing providers and their 3rd‑party contractors," OAG Director Vermillion said, recommending stronger enforcement so charges are unenforceable when landlords fail to disclose before a tenant signs a lease.
Tenant advocates and Legal Aid testified that RUBS often produces unpredictable monthly bills that tenants cannot verify and that voucher holders are particularly harmed because utility allowances don't cover landlord‑billed charges. Eleni Christides of Legal Aid said RUBS "is opaque and confusing" and noted that tenants cannot access utility assistance if their utilities are billed through landlords rather than directly by the utility company.
Landlord groups and some developers warned of administrative burdens and urged phased implementation and education. Several witnesses proposed alternative approaches — including capped fees, third‑party registration and appeals processes, or requiring flat monthly common‑area charges — and urged the committee to focus on utility‑by‑utility rules. The Office of the Tenant Advocate recommended requiring 12 months of itemized bills at application, a longer (three‑year) lookback for disconnections and clearer penalties for nondisclosure.
The committee asked agencies and advocates to work on technical fixes and enforcement language; no vote was taken.
