Many municipal water accounts are not transferable to tenants or property managers. Successful utility billing management requires cooperation between the Owner and ConnectAll.
In many cities and towns, water and sewer accounts:
- Cannot be transferred to tenants
- Must remain under the property owner’s name
- Require account usernames and passwords to access billing statements
- Are issued on varying billing schedules depending on the municipality
As a result, the Owner plays an important role in obtaining and forwarding utility bills to ConnectAll for processing.
📥 Owner Responsibilities
The Owner is responsible for:
- Maintaining access to the water utility account
- Downloading or obtaining utility bills promptly when issued
- Forwarding the bill to ConnectAll in a timely manner
- Ensuring utility accounts remain active and in good standing
Owners should be aware that each municipality may issue water bills on different schedules, including:
- Monthly
- Bi-monthly
- Quarterly
- Irregular municipal cycles
Because billing schedules vary by town and utility provider, it is the Owner’s responsibility to monitor the account and provide the bill promptly after it becomes available.
Delays in forwarding utility bills may result in delayed tenant billing and delayed reimbursement to the Owner.
📋 ConnectAll Responsibilities
Once ConnectAll receives the utility bill, we will:
- Review and validate the bill
- Calculate the Resident’s responsibility based on:
- Lease terms
- Move-in date
- Move-out date
- Utility responsibility allocation
- Prorated occupancy periods if applicable
- Forward the bill to the Resident by email
- Post the charge to the Resident portal for payment
ConnectAll will maintain records of the utility billing communication and payment postings as part of our management process.
💵 Resident Payment Process
Residents are responsible for utility charges in accordance with the lease agreement.
Most Residents prefer to pay utility reimbursements together with their monthly rent payment at the beginning of the month.
Once ConnectAll receives payment from the Resident. The collected utility reimbursement will be disbursed to the Owner together with the monthly rent distribution, subject to standard processing timelines.
⚠️ Timing and Billing Considerations
Owners should understand that utility billing timing may not align perfectly with tenancy dates or rent cycles.
Examples may include:
- Delayed municipal billing cycles
- Estimated bills later corrected by the utility provider
- Bills covering periods before or after tenancy transitions
- Final bills received after move-out
ConnectAll will make reasonable efforts to calculate prorated utility responsibility accurately based on the lease terms, occupancy dates, and historical usage.
🔌 Other Non-Transferable Utility Accounts
In rare situations, other utility accounts may also remain under the Owner’s name instead of being transferred to the Resident.
Examples may include:
- Electric
- Gas
- Oil
- Trash collection
- Sewer
If any utility account cannot be transferred to the Resident, the Owner must follow the same process outlined for water bills:
- Obtain the bill
- Forward the bill to ConnectAll promptly
- Allow ConnectAll to calculate and collect the Resident’s responsibility pursuant to the lease agreement
📌 Important Owner Acknowledgment
By participating in this utility billing process, the Owner acknowledges and understands that:
- ConnectAll does not have direct access to most municipal utility accounts
- Timely utility billing depends on the Owner promptly providing the bills
- Delays in providing bills may delay tenant collection and Owner reimbursement
- Utility reimbursement collection from Residents is subject to lease terms, payment timing, and applicable laws
ConnectAll will make commercially reasonable efforts to assist with utility billing administration; however, the Owner remains responsible for maintaining utility account access and ensuring bills are provided in a timely manner.