All Forum Posts by: Matthew Ginsberg

We have a tenant in Washington County, Maryland who pays his rent on time every month, but has refused to pay his water bill, even though in the Lease Contract it states he's responsible. Our Lease Contract doesn't currently say that all payments will be applied to non-rent charges first, oldest to newest, but it also doesn't say anything about how we may allocate the payments tenants make to us. Can we choose how we allocate the rent $ he pays us (meaning allocate the rent $ he pays us toward the water bill and the rest toward rent if we choose to)? Ideally, we'd like to do this so we can file for failure to pay rent against the tenant if it comes down to that, but we first want to make sure it's legal in our jurisdiction to do this. Any answers/ suggestions would be much appreciated! 

Thank you so much for responding! You are correct, the provider of the water and wastewater is a government entity that can lien the property if the bill goes unpaid and the utility is based on usage not a flat fee.

My leases also state that any monies owed are considered rent under the lease contract, but under these circumstances, I can't enforce it. In Washington County, Maryland (where the rental property is located) I legally can't file a failure to pay rent claim to get the tenant evicted if the tenant doesn't pay a utility. I can only file a failure to pay rent claim to have a tenant evicted if the tenant fails to pay their base rent amount (but the tenant pays his base rent amount on time every month). To make matters worse, I can legally only charge a one time 5% base rent late fee on rent, but not on other charges owed. 

If you have any other suggestions, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you again for your time and for your advice! 

I manage rental properties in Hagerstown, Maryland. In my Lease Contract with tenants, the Lease says tenants are responsible for paying all of their utilities, including water.  Water bills come in once every 3 months and I give tenants ample notice prior to updating their accounts with the water bill charge. When water bills come in, I pay tenants water bills to the Water and Wastewater Department directly and they reimburse me the cost owed with their next months rental installment. I have to do it this way for legal reasons. A few months ago, one of my tenants stopped paying his water bills, but continues to pay rent on time. I'd like to take legal action against the tenant to collect the amount I'm owed, but I don't think I can file a small claims case, since the water bill account is in the owners name (the account must stay in the owners name for legal reasons). The tenant is breaking the Lease by not paying the water bill amount owed. What are my legal options?