Utility billing laws for landlords in Arizona

Rules reviewed September 2026

This is information, not legal advice.

SplitDue performs the math; you are responsible for following your state and local rules on utility billing to tenants. Most states require the allocation method to be disclosed in the lease, prohibit billing tenants more than the actual utility cost, and some cap or prohibit admin fees. This is not legal advice. Rules were reviewed September 2026 (version 2026-09) and are not exhaustive — cities frequently add their own requirements. Confirm current law with a Arizona attorney before you bill.

At a glance

Admin fee
Allowed if disclosed; must reflect actual cost
Lease disclosure
Required. State the utilities billed and the allocation method before the tenant signs.
Billing above the utility's bill
Not permitted. Tenant shares must never total more than the master bill.
Common areas
Excluded. Hallways, laundry and irrigation stay the owner's cost.

What Arizona requires

  • The lease must list the utilities billed, the allocation method, and any admin fee (A.R.S. 33-1314.01).
  • Admin fees may only recover actual administrative costs.
  • Existing tenants need 90 days' notice before a new allocation method starts.

How SplitDue handles this

  • SplitDue keeps any admin fee on its own line of the tenant bill, so the utility cost and your fee are never conflated.
  • Tenant shares are calculated so they add up to the master bill exactly, never more, and rounding remainders are absorbed rather than collected twice.
  • Vacant and owner-occupied units still take their share of every bill, but that share is assigned to you rather than pushed onto the remaining tenants.
  • Each tenant bill states the method, the service dates, the inputs used, and the utility's total, which is the disclosure most states expect you to be able to produce.

Related reading

Other states

Split your Arizona bills correctly

SplitDue does the allocation, produces a documented PDF for each tenant, and tracks which periods you have already billed.