NRS704.940. Rates; service charges; proration and limitations on certain charges for water; itemization of charges; retention of copy of billings; transfer of balance by landlord upon termination of interest in mobile home park.

      1.  In a mobile home park or company town where the landlord or owner is billed by a gas or electric utility or an alternative seller and in turn charges the tenants or occupants of the dwellings for the service provided by the utility or alternative seller, and the park or town:

      (a) Is equipped with individual meters for each lot, the landlord or owner shall not charge a tenant or occupant for that service at a rate higher than the rate paid by the landlord or owner.

      (b) Is not equipped with individual meters for each lot, the landlord or owner shall prorate the cost of the service equally among the tenants of the park or occupants of the dwellings who use the service, but the prorated charges must not exceed in the aggregate the cost of the service to the landlord or owner.

      2.  In a mobile home park or company town that:

      (a) Is equipped with individual water meters for each lot, the individual meters must be read and billed by the purveyor of the water.

      (b) Is not equipped with individual water meters for each lot and the landlord or owner is billed by the purveyor of the water and in turn charges the tenants or occupants of the dwellings for the service provided by the purveyor, the landlord or owner shall prorate the cost of the service equally among the tenants of the park or occupants of the dwellings who use the service, but the prorated charges must not exceed in the aggregate the cost of the service to the landlord or owner.

Ê The landlord or owner of a mobile home park that converts from a master-metered water system to individual water meters for each mobile home lot shall not charge or receive any fee, surcharge or rent increase to recover from the landlord’s or owner’s tenants the costs of the conversion. The owner of a company town that is not equipped with individual water meters shall not convert from the master-metered water system to individual water meters.

      3.  To the extent that the cost of providing a utility service to the common area of a mobile home park or company town can be identified, the landlord or owner may not recover the cost of the utility service provided to the common area by directly charging a tenant or the occupant of a dwelling for those services.

      4.  The landlord of a mobile home park or owner of a company town may assess and collect a charge to reimburse the landlord or owner for the actual cost of the service charge the landlord or owner is required to pay to a water utility serving the park or town. If the landlord or owner collects such a charge, the landlord or owner shall prorate the actual cost of the service charge to the tenants or occupants of dwellings who use the service. The landlord or owner shall not collect more than the aggregate cost of the service to the landlord or owner.

      5.  The landlord may assess and collect a service charge from the tenants of the park for the provision of gas and electric utility services, but the amount of the charge must not be more than the tenants would be required to pay the utility or alternative seller providing the service. The landlord shall:

      (a) Keep the money from the service charges in a separate account and expend it only for federal income taxes which must be paid as a result of the collection of the service charge, for preventive maintenance or for repairing or replacing utility lines or equipment when ordered or granted permission to do so by the Commission; and

      (b) Retain for at least 3 years a complete record of all deposits and withdrawals of money from the account and file the record with the Commission on or before March 30 of each year.

      6.  Money collected by the landlord or owner for service provided by a utility or an alternative seller to the tenants of a mobile home park or occupants of the dwellings may not be used to maintain, repair or replace utility lines or equipment serving the common area of the mobile home park or company town.

      7.  The owner of a company town who provides a utility service directly to the occupants of the town may charge the occupants their pro rata share of the owner’s cost of providing that service. Where meters are available, the pro rata share must be based on meter readings. Where meters are not available, the owner shall determine a fair allocation which must be explained in detail to the Commission in the reports required by NRS 704.960. The Commission may modify the allocation in accordance with its regulations if it determines the owner’s method not to be fair. The Commission shall adopt regulations governing the determination of the costs which an owner of a company town may recover for providing a utility service directly to the occupants of that town and the terms and conditions governing the provision of that service.

      8.  The landlord or owner shall itemize all charges for utility services on all bills for rent or occupancy. The landlord or owner may pass through to the tenant or occupant any increase in a rate for a utility service and shall pass through any decrease in a charge for a utility service as it becomes effective.

      9.  The landlord or owner shall retain for at least 3 years a copy of all billings for utility services made to the tenants or the occupants of the landlord’s or owner’s dwellings and shall make these records available upon request to the Commission for verification of charges made for utility services.

      10.  A landlord whose interest in a mobile home park terminates for any reason shall transfer to the landlord’s successor in interest any balance remaining in the account for service charges for utilities. Evidence of the transfer must be filed with the Commission.

      11.  The Commission may at any time examine all books and records which relate to the landlord’s or owner’s purchase of or billing for a service provided by a utility or an alternative seller if the landlord or owner is charging the tenants of the mobile home park or occupants of the dwellings for that service.

      (Added to NRS by 1983, 2033; A 1987, 935; 1989, 1868; 1991, 1985; 1995, 917; 2001, 1768)