Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Utility Bill

I agree with Mr. Shers, and I would also reexamine my lease as to any provisions involving the adding of extra charges.

Re: Utility Bill

You have the right to know who the owner is and the owner's agents. How do you know that the on site manager still works as that and she has not been fired? She could collect a month's rent from everyone and skip out of town. Go to her and demand the information. Tell her that if you have to find it out by yourself, then the owner will find out she is upsetting a good tenant. If she will not give it to you, go down to the tax collector's Office and look up to whom and where the tax bills are sent or to the recorders office to see the deed selling the place to the owner [but might not give an address]. Look in the Court case records for the owner ass a party to a suit; if it was an eviction action, the court's minutes of the hearing will show the name of the management company if they appeared on behalf of the owner. If there are any elevators or similar heavy electrical equipment devises, they may have a sticker who to contact in case of problems.

I assume you have a year to year lease. That means unless the lease states in the body of the lease that additional charges can be imposed, the owner can not make you pay any additional sum until the new lease is signed. If the water bill was added after the lease became effective or yo were never told about it until the lease period had started, you are not bound by it as it is outside the contract you agreed to. The service fee is for the owner separating out the individual bills and is highly questionable even if he had done it correctly.