1 If, in any action brought to recover the possession of demised premises upon a 



2 forfeiture for the nonpayment of reBt;; rent or nonpayment of the cost of water and sewer 



3 services, the tenant, before judgment given in such action, pays or tenders the rent 



4 dtte rent, the costs due for water and sewer services, and the costs of the action, all 



5 further proceedings in such action shall cease. If the plaintiff fiirther prosecutes his 



6 action, and the defendant pays into court for the use of the plaintiff a sum equal to that 



7 which shall be found to be due, and the costs, to the time of such payment, or to the time 



8 of a tender and refusal, if one has occurred, the defendant shall recover from the 



9 plaintiff all subsequent costs; the plaintiff shall be allowed to receive the sum paid into 



10 court for his use, and the proceedings shall be stayed." 



1 1 SECTION 4. Article 5 of Chapter 42 of the General Statutes is amended by 



12 adding a new section to read: 



13 " § 42-42.1. Water Conservation. 



14 (a) For the purpose of encouraging water conservation, pursuant to a written rental 



15 agreement, a landlord may allocate the cost of providing water and sewer service to a 



16 tenant. The cost allocated to the tenant cannot exceed the actual price of the water and 



17 sewer service paid by the landlord, plus a reasonable administrative fee. The 



18 administrative fee cannot exceed $3.75 per month per tenant. Allocation of the cost for 



19 water and sewer service by the landlord to the tenant may be computed by using 



20 equipment that measures the tenant's actual use of hot water, cold water, or both, and 



21 calculates the tenant's usage as a percentage of the total water used on the premises. 



22 (b) All equipment used to measure water usage must comply with guidelines 



23 promulgated by the American Water Works Association. 



24 (c) The landlord shall maintain records for a minimum of twelve months that 



25 demonstrate how each tenant's allocated costs were calculated for water and sewer 



26 service. Upon advanced written notice to the landlord, a tenant may inspect these 



27 records during reasonable business hours and may obtain a copy of the records at a 



28 reasonable cost, not to exceed $.25 per page. 



29 (d) Bills for water and sewer service sent by the landlord to the tenant shall contain 



30 all the following information: 



31 £11 The amount of water and sewer services allocated to the tenant during 



32 the billing period. 



33 (2) Beginning and ending dates for the billing period. 



34 £3} The due date for payment of the bill. 



35 (4) The past due date which is the first date that a late fee can be imposed. 



36 £5} Any late fee that will be applied if the bill is not paid by the past due 



37 date. 



38 £6) A telephone number and address that the tenant can use to obtain more 



39 information about the bill. 



40 (e) The landlord may not disconnect or terminate the tenant's water and sewer 



41 services due to the tenant's nonpayment of the amount due for water and sewer 



42 services. " 



43 SECTIONS. G.S. 42-46(d) reads as rewritten: 



50 



