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2012 SESSION
12103053DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 15.2-2119 and 15.2-5139 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 15.2-2119. Fees and charges for water and sewer services.
A. For
water and sewer services provided by localities, fees and charges may be
charged to and collected from:
(i) any person contracting for the same; (ii) the owner who is the
occupant of the property or where a single meter serves multiple
units; (iii) a lessee or tenant, or some or all of them who use
or occupy any real estate provided
that the lessee or tenant has written authorization from the owner of the
property to obtain water and sewer services in the name of such lessee or tenant with such fees and charges applicable for water and sewer
services (a) which directly or
indirectly is or has been connected with the sewage disposal system and (b)
from or on which sewage or industrial wastes originate or have originated and
have directly or indirectly entered or will enter the sewage disposal system;
or (iii) (iv) any user of a municipality's water or sewer system
with respect to combined sanitary and storm water sewer systems where the user
is a resident of the municipality and the purpose of any such fee or charge is
related to the control of combined sewer overflow discharges from such systems.
Such fees and charges shall be practicable and equitable and payable as
directed by the respective locality operating or providing for the operation of
the water or sewer system. For purposes of this section,
a written or electronic authorization from the owner
of the property to obtain water and sewer services in the name of such lessee
or tenant substantially in the form as follows shall be sufficient compliance
with this section:
DATE
[INSERT NAME OF WATER AND SEWER SERVICES PROVIDER AND ADDRESS]
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
RE: [INSERT FULL TENANT NAME AND ADDRESS]
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
To Whom It May Concern:
[INSERT TENANT NAME] has entered into a lease for the property located at [INSERT ADDRESS] and is authorized to obtain services at this address as a tenant of [INSERT PROPERTY OWNER NAME].
Signed: ____________________________
PROPERTY OWNER
B. Such fees and charges, being in the nature of use or service charges, shall, as nearly as the governing body deems practicable and equitable, be uniform for the same type, class and amount of use or service of the sewage disposal system, and may be based or computed either on the consumption of water on or in connection with the real estate, making due allowances for commercial use of water, or on the number and kind of water outlets on or in connection with the real estate or on the number and kind of plumbing or sewage fixtures or facilities on or in connection with the real estate or on the number or average number of persons residing or working on or otherwise connected or identified with the real estate or any other factors determining the type, class and amount of use or service of the sewage disposal system, or any combination of such factors, or on such other basis as the governing body may determine. Such fees and charges shall be due and payable at such time as the governing body may determine, and the governing body may require the same to be paid in advance for periods of not more than six months. The revenue derived from any or all of such fees and charges is hereby declared to be revenue of such sewage disposal system.
C. Water and sewer connection fees established by any locality shall be fair and reasonable. Such fees shall be reviewed by the locality periodically and shall be adjusted, if necessary, to assure that they continue to be fair and reasonable. Nothing herein shall affect existing contracts with bondholders which are in conflict with any of the foregoing provisions.
D. If the fees and charges charged for the use and services of the sewage disposal system by or in connection with any real estate are not paid when due, a penalty and interest shall at that time be owed as provided for by general law, and the owner, lessee or tenant, as the case may be, of such real estate shall, until such fees and charges are paid with such penalty and interest to the date of payment, cease to dispose of sewage or industrial waste originating from or on such real estate by discharge thereof directly or indirectly into the sewage disposal system. If such owner, lessee or tenant does not cease such disposal within two months thereafter, the locality or person supplying water for the use of such real estate shall cease supplying water thereto unless the health officers certify that shutting off the water will endanger the health of the occupants of the premises or the health of others.
E. Such
fees and charges, and any penalty and interest thereon,
shall constitute a lien against the property, ranking on a parity with liens
for unpaid taxes. However, prior to recording a
lien against the property owner, the locality or service authority shall obtain
a judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction against the former tenant who
contracted for such services for the amount of any delinquencies. After
obtaining judgment against the former tenant as contracting party and using reasonable
efforts to collect on the judgment, if the locality or service authority is
unable to collect the balance due on the money judgment, the locality or
service authority shall provide the property owner with 30 days' written
notification to allow the property owner a reasonable opportunity to pay the
amount of the lien and avoid the recordation of a lien against the property.
A lien may be placed on the property in the amount of up to three months of delinquent water and sewer charges, any applicable penalties and interest of such delinquent charges, and reasonable attorney fees and other costs of collection not exceeding 20 percent of such delinquent charges. In no case shall a lien for less than $25 be placed against the property.
F. A lien may be placed on the
property for water and sewer services used by a lessee or tenant only if the
locality has (i) advised the owner of the property in writing that a lien may
be placed on the property if the lessee or tenant fails to pay any delinquent
water and sewer charges; (ii) mailed by first-class mail
to the owner of the property, or sent electronically if
requested by the owner, at the address listed in the
written authorization from the owner of the property, a duplicate
copy of the final bill sent to the lessee or tenant at the time of sending the
final bill to such lessee or tenant; (iii) collected a security deposit from
the lessee or tenant as reasonably determined by the locality to be sufficient
to collateralize the locality for not less
than three and no more than five months of water
and sewer charges; (iv) has applied the security deposit held by the locality
to the payment of the outstanding balance; (v) has employed reasonable
collection efforts and practices to collect amounts due from a lessee or a
tenant including filing for the Set-Off Debt
Collection Program if the locality is a participant; and (vi)
has provided the property owner with 30 days'
written notice with a copy of the final
bill to allow the property owner a
reasonable opportunity to pay the amount of any outstanding balance and avoid
the recordation of a lien against the property. If the
property owner fails to pay the amount of the outstanding judgment balance within the 30-day period,
the locality or the
service authority may record a lien in the amount of the
outstanding judgment balance
against the property owner. Upon payment of the outstanding judgment balance, or any portion
thereof, or of any amounts of such fees and charges owed by the former tenant but for which judgment has not
been obtained, the property owner shall be entitled to
receive any refunds and shall be subrogated against the former tenant in place
of the locality or the
service authority in the amount paid by the property owner.
The locality or service authority shall
execute all documents necessary to perfect such subrogation in favor of the
property owner. Such amounts, plus reasonable attorney's or
collection agency's fees which shall not exceed 20 percent of the delinquent
tax bill, may be recovered by the locality by action at law or suit in equity.
In any city with a population greater than 390,000, such fees and charges,
along with delinquent water and sewer connection fees, and any penalty and
interest thereon shall constitute a lien against the property, ranking on a
parity with liens for unpaid taxes. Such amounts, plus reasonable attorney's or
collection agency's fees which shall not exceed 20 percent of the delinquent
fee or charge, may be recovered by such city by action at law or suit in
equity.
G. When the owner has provided the lessee or tenant with written authorization from the owner of the property to obtain water and sewer services in the name of such lessee or tenant, nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the locality to require (i) the owner to put water and sewer services in the name of the owner, except in the case where a single meter serves multiple tenant units, or (ii) a security deposit or a guarantee of payment from an owner of property.
H. The locality shall not require a security deposit from the lessee or tenant to obtain water and sewer services in the name of such lessee or tenant if such lessee or tenant presents to the locality a landlord authorization letter which has attached a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, and the absence of a security deposit shall not prevent a locality from exercising its lien rights as authorized under subsection F.
I. Unless a lien has been recorded against the property owner,
the locality or service
authority shall not deny service to a new tenant who is
requesting service at a particular property address based upon the fact that a
former tenant has not paid any outstanding fees and charges charged for the use
and services in the name of the former previous tenant. In addition, the
locality or service authority
shall provide information relative to a former tenant or current tenant to the
property owner upon request of the property owner. If the property owner
provides the locality a request to be notified of a tenant's delinquent water
bill and provides an email address, the locality shall send the property owner
notice when a tenant's water bill has become 15 days delinquent.
J. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any town with a population between 11,000 and 14,000, with the concurrence of the affected county, which provides and operates sewer services outside its boundaries may provide sewer services to industrial and commercial users outside its boundaries and collect such compensation therefor as may be contracted for between the town and such user. Such town shall not thereby be obligated to provide sewer services to any other users outside its boundaries.
K. The lien shall not bind or affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of the real estate for valuable consideration without actual notice of the lien until the amount of such delinquent charges is entered in the official records of the office of the clerk of the circuit court in the jurisdiction in which the real estate is located. The clerk shall make and index the entries in the clerk’s official records a fee of $5 per entry, to be paid by the locality and added to the amount of the lien.
L. The lien on any real estate may be discharged by the payment to the locality of the total lien amount and the interest which has accrued to the date of the payment. The locality shall deliver a fully executed lien release substantially in the form set forth in this subsection to the person making the payment. The locality shall provide the fully executed lien release to the person who made payment within 10 business days of such payment if the person who made such payment did not personally appear at the time of such payment. Upon presentation of such lien release, the clerk shall mark the lien satisfied. There shall be no separate clerk's fee for such lien release. For purposes of this section, a lien release of the water and sewer lien substantially in the form as follows shall be sufficient compliance with this section:
Prepared By and When
Recorded Return to:
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Tax Parcel/GPIN Number: ______________
CERTIFICATE OF RELEASE OF WATER AND SEWER SERVICE LIEN
Pursuant to Va. Code Annotated § 15.2-2119 (L), this release is exempt from recordation fees.
Date Lien Recorded: ______________ Instrument Deed Book No.: ______________
Grantee for Index Purposes: ______________
Claim Asserted: Delinquent water and sewer service charges in the amount of $_______.
Description of Property: [Insert name of property owner and tax map parcel/GPIN Number]
The above-mentioned lien is hereby released.
BY: ____________________________________
TITLE: _________________________________
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
CITY/COUNTY OF ___________________, to-wit:
Acknowledged, subscribed, and sworn to before me this ____ day of ______________, by ____________________________ as _____________________ of the [Insert Water/Sewer Provider Name] on behalf of [Insert Water/Sewer Provider Name].
________________________________
Notary Public
My commission expires: _____________________________
Notary Registration Number: _________________________
§ 15.2-5139. Lien for charges.
A. There shall be a lien upon real
estate for the amount of any fees, rents or other charges by an authority to
the owner or lessee or tenant of the real estate for the use and services of
any system of the authority by or in connection with the real estate from the
time when the fees, rents or charges are due, and for the interest which may
accrue thereon. Such lien shall rank on a parity with liens for unpaid real
estate taxes. An authority may contract with a locality to collect amounts due
on properly recorded utility liens in the same manner as unpaid real estate
taxes due the locality. A lien for delinquent rates or charges applicable to
three or fewer months may be placed by an authority if the authority or its
billing and collection agent (i) has advised the owner of such real estate at
the time of initiating service to a lessee or tenant of such real estate that a
lien will be placed on the real estate if the lessee or tenant fails to pay any
fees, rents or other charges when due for services rendered to the lessee or
tenant; (ii) has mailed to the owner of the real estate a duplicate copy of the
final bill rendered to the lessee or tenant at the time of rendering the final
bill to such lessee or tenant; and (iii) employs the same collection efforts
and practices to collect amounts due the authority from a lessee or a tenant as
are employed with respect to collection of such amounts due from customers who
are owners of the real estate for which service is provided.
However, prior to recording
any lien on the owner's property, the authority shall provide the property
owner with 30 days' written notification to allow the property owner a
reasonable opportunity to pay the amount of the lien and avoid the recordation
of a lien against the property. If the property owner fails to pay the amount
of the former tenant's obligations within the 30-day period, the authority may
record a lien in the amount of such outstanding obligations against the
property owner. Upon payment of any outstanding amounts due by a former tenant
of the property owner, the property owner shall be entitled to receive any
refunds and shall be subrogated against the former tenant in place of the
authority in the amount paid by the property owner. The authority shall execute
all documents necessary to perfect such subrogation in favor of the property
owner. Unless a lien has been recorded against the property owner, the
authority shall not deny service to a new tenant requesting service at a
particular property address based upon the fact that a former tenant has not paid
any outstanding fees and charges charged for the use and services in the name
of the former tenant. In addition, the authority shall provide information
relative to a former tenant or current tenant to the property owner upon
request of the property owner with the written notification to the property
owner as otherwise provided herein. If the property owner provides the
authority a request to be notified of a tenant's delinquent water bill and
provides an email address, the authority shall send the property owner notice
when a tenant's water bill has become 15 days delinquent.
B. The lien shall not bind or
affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of the real estate for valuable
consideration without actual notice of the lien until the amount of such fees,
rents and charges is entered in a judgment lien book in the office where deeds
may be recorded in the locality in which the real estate or a part thereof is
located. The clerk in whose office deeds may be recorded shall make and index
the entries therein upon certification by the authority, for which he shall be
entitled to a fee of two dollars per entry, to be paid by the authority and
added to the amount of the lien. The authority shall give the owner of the real
estate notice in writing that it has made such certification to the clerk.
C. The lien on any real estate
may be discharged by the payment to the authority of the total lien amount, and
the interest which has accrued to the date of the payment. The authority shall
deliver a certificate thereof to the person making the payment. Upon
presentation of such certificate, the clerk having the record of the lien shall
mark the entry of the lien satisfied, for which he shall be entitled to a fee
of one dollar.
An authority may place a lien upon the real property of an owner only in accordance with the provisions of § 15.2-2119 and such lien may only be processed, recorded, and released in accordance therewith.
An authority may contract with a locality to collect amounts due on properly recorded utility liens in the same manner as unpaid real estate taxes due the locality.
2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective for any water and sewer services contracted for after July 1, 2011.