§8–205.

§8–205.1.

(a) In this section, “utility service provider” means a public service company or a unit of State or local government that provides water, sewer, gas, or electric utility services.

(b) (1) This section applies only to a landlord of a building that contains six or more residential dwelling units.

(2) This section does not apply to:

(i) A landlord that requires a tenant, under an oral or written lease, to pay water, sewer, gas, or electric bills directly to the utility service provider; or

(ii) A utility that is allocated using a ratio utility billing system, as defined in § 8–212.4 of this subtitle.

(c) A landlord that requires a tenant to make payments for water, sewer, gas, or electric utility services to the landlord shall:

(1) Use a written lease that provides notice that the tenant is responsible for making payments for water, sewer, gas, or electric utility services to the landlord; and

(2) (i) Provide a copy of the water, sewer, gas, or electric bill to the tenant; or

(ii) Before the beginning of the initial lease and each term thereafter for the duration of the tenancy, notify the tenant in writing of the total utility costs billed to the landlord in the immediately preceding year for water, sewer, gas, or electric utility services, disaggregated by utility type.