Utility billing laws for landlords in Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts attorney before you bill.
At a glance
- Admin fee
- Not allowed on allocated bills
- 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 Massachusetts requires
- Massachusetts generally does not permit allocated (ratio) utility billing to residential tenants. Water may only be billed through certified submeters with specific conditions (M.G.L. c.186 s.22). Consult an attorney before billing tenants for shared utilities.
How SplitDue handles this
- Because Massachusetts restricts admin fees on allocated bills, SplitDue shows that warning when you set one and records the rule alongside the utility.
- 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
- What Is RUBS Utility Billing?RUBS splits one master utility bill across units by formula instead of by meter. How the allocation methods work, how it compares to submetering, and the rules that apply almost everywhere.
- Submetering vs. RUBS: Which Should You Use?What each approach costs, what it recovers, how to handle a building where only some units are metered, and the states that decide the question for you.
- Utility Billing Admin Fees: Capped, Banned, or AllowedWhich states prohibit admin fees on allocated utility bills, which cap them, and the three mistakes that turn a reasonable fee into a violation.
Other states
Split your Massachusetts bills correctly
SplitDue does the allocation, produces a documented PDF for each tenant, and tracks which periods you have already billed.