Utilities Clause
in Your Lease
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Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what New York law says, what's specific to New York City - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Cutting heat, water or power to push you out is an unlawful eviction under RPAPL § 768.
- Civil penalties run $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 per day for at most six months.
- It covers anyone with a written or oral lease, or who has lawfully occupied the unit 30 days.
- A deliberate shutoff is a class A misdemeanor, and each violation is a separate offense.
- In New York City, HPD enforces heat and hot water standards, and Housing Court hears harassment cases.
Copy and send: As soon as heat, hot water, water or power stops and the utility tells you the account was closed or cut
Ask for your service back in writing
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Understanding the Utilities Clause
This page is for New York City renters reading the utilities paragraph of a lease, or sitting in an apartment where the heat, water or power just went off. In a city lease the clause is usually a short list of what rent includes and what you set up in your own name.
When service stops, the question that matters is whether the landlord cut it to make you leave. If so, state law treats it as an eviction, and the city gives you a second place to complain.
What renters assume
If I am behind on rent, a shutoff is just part of the billing dispute.
What is actually true
Interrupting essential services to push an occupant out is an unlawful eviction under RPAPL § 768, not a billing step. A landlord who wants you out has to go to court.
The gap on this chart is the whole story. Georgia caps the landlord's exposure at a $500 fine that gets paid to the state instead of to you, while New York puts $1,000 to $10,000 per violation in the tenant's hands and adds a criminal charge on top.
Utilities Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in New York City, NY
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
Upon Tenant’s request, Landlord will provide a copy of the actual utility bill for the property. In addition, Landlord will make available an accounting of the utility bill prorations.
Quoted from the published opinion in Kutscheid v. Emerald Square Properties, Inc., 770 N.W.2d 529 (Minn. Ct. App. 2009). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“Landlord will provide”
Future tense, and only on request. What a New York renter should notice is that this promise is the landlord's substitute for telling you anything up front. Minnesota's legislature closed that gap for single-metered buildings by requiring the whole building's monthly totals before signing. The New York statute on this page does something different and blunter - it makes cutting the service off an unlawful eviction.
“In addition”
The second promise, and the more revealing one, because it concedes the first is not enough on its own: the bill does not explain your share. In Kutscheid the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed on exactly that point - the addendum promised the actual bill and an accounting, and it still did not satisfy the pre-lease disclosure the statute required.
“Landlord will make available”
“Make available” is weaker than “provide” - it can mean a binder in a leasing office during business hours. Compare what New York does put teeth behind. Under RPAPL § 768 an intentional interruption of essential services to evict is a class A misdemeanor, and each violation is a separate and distinct offence, so a week without hot water is not one wrong.
See the example
“an accounting of the utility bill prorations”
This is the sentence that sounds like transparency and is not. A proration accounting explains the arithmetic after the fact; it does not tell you, before you sign, what the building actually spends. Minnesota required the second thing and the court reversed when the landlord had offered only the first - then held that the state's treble-damages remedy in § 504B.221(a) does not even reach that kind of violation, remanding for actual damages instead.
See the example
A promise to show you the bill later is not disclosure. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed. The addendum allocated the building's gas bill by share of rentable square footage and its water and sewer bill equally among the units - that is the court's own description of the formula, not the lease's words - and it promised the actual bill on request. That did not satisfy Minn. Stat. § 504B.215, subd. 2a(1), which requires the landlord of a single-metered residential building that bills utilities separately from rent to give prospective tenants, before they sign, the total utility cost for the whole building for each month of the most recent calendar year. A leasing agent's statement that the tenant's own unit averaged $60 to $80 a month was insufficient, and disclosure after signing was irrelevant. Her actual charges ran $168.18 for December 2007, $171.39 for January 2008 and $170.67 for February 2008. The court also held that the treble-damages remedy in § 504B.221(a) does not reach this violation, and remanded for actual damages - a clean win on the rule, and a much smaller one on the money.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
New York Law on Utilities Clause
- Cutting off essential services such as heat, water, or electricity to evict an occupant is an unlawful eviction under RPAPL § 768.
- It protects anyone with a written or oral lease, or who has lawfully occupied the unit for at least 30 days.
- An intentional violation is a class A misdemeanor, and each violation is a separate and distinct offense.
- Civil penalties run from $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 per day (maximum six months) until the occupant is restored.
Sources include N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 768 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
New York's rule is N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 768, often called RPAPL 768. It treats a shutoff as an eviction, not a service complaint:
- What it bans. Interrupting essential services such as heat, water or electricity to push an occupant out is an unlawful eviction.
- Who it covers. Anyone with a written or oral lease, or anyone who has lawfully occupied the unit for at least 30 days.
- Civil penalties. $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 per day until you are restored, for a maximum of six months.
- Criminal charge. An intentional violation is a class A misdemeanor, and each violation is a separate and distinct offense.
Your utilities clause still decides who pays each bill. RPAPL 768 is about a landlord cutting service to push you out. Check the section as it reads on the day you need it.
What's Specific to New York City
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
New York City adds a second track on top of the state penalty. HPD enforces the Housing Maintenance Code standards for heat, hot water and essential services, so a 311 complaint can bring an inspector and violations against the building.
Cutting services is also actionable as tenant harassment in Housing Court. In older buildings where heat and hot water come from a central boiler and are included in rent, write down the day an outage starts.
Heat, hot water, gas and electricity are often split. A line for each shows what rent covers and what goes in your name.
In NYC these are essential services HPD enforces. If the lease is silent, get the answer in writing before you sign.
Red flag. Cutting essential services to push you out is an unlawful eviction under RPAPL § 768.
Push back. Ask for the master bill and the math in writing before you pay your first share.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 768 on nysenate.gov, New York's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A shutoff reserved for late rent
Any line tying utilities to your rent balance. Interrupting essential services to push you out is an unlawful eviction under RPAPL § 768.
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Heat and hot water left out
The clause never says who supplies heat or hot water. In NYC those are essential services HPD enforces, so get the answer in writing.
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A shared bill with no formula
You pay a share of a building meter with no math shown. Ask for the master bill and the formula before the first payment.
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A waiver of claims for lost service
Language giving up damages if service is interrupted. Ask why it is there; RPAPL 768 sets its own penalties for a shutoff meant to push you out.
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Utilities in the landlord's name
Your service runs on the owner's account and you cannot see it. Ask how you will know each bill has been paid.
Your Rights as a New York City Tenant
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No shutoff to force you out
Interrupting heat, water, electricity or other essential services to push an occupant out is an unlawful eviction under RPAPL § 768.
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Covered without a signed lease
The rule reaches oral leases and anyone who has lawfully occupied the unit for at least 30 days.
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Penalties plus daily damages
$1,000 to $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 per day for at most six months until you are restored.
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A city inspector
HPD enforces heat, hot water and essential-services standards. A 311 complaint can bring an inspector and violations against the building.
What To Do - Step by Step
Note when service stopped
Take dated photos of the cold tap, dark fixtures and thermostat. The daily amount runs until you are restored, so the start date matters.
Ask the utility who closed the account
Con Edison or National Grid can tell you whether the account was closed and by whom. That separates a failed service from a deliberate cutoff.
Ask the landlord in writing
Text or email that service is out and ask when it comes back. Keep the reply.
File a 311 complaint
Report the loss of heat, hot water or essential services to HPD. An inspector can place violations against the building.
Get legal help before you settle
Legal-aid groups and NYC's Right to Counsel program take these cases.
Go to Housing Court
Ask the court to order service restored. Cutting services is also actionable there as tenant harassment, on top of the RPAPL 768 penalties.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Utilities rules near New York
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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