The Winamac Town Council approved an ordinance last Tuesday that would allow water and electric bills at rental properties to be put in the name of the landlord, rather than switching it every time there’s a new tenant.
This idea first came up when members met in October and Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger mentioned some consistent issues with renters leaving town with unpaid utility bills.
She informed them that while there is a state statute that requires landlords to provide payment for their tenants’ unpaid wastewater bills, there is nothing that requires them to cover the water or electric bills.
She added that those unpaid bills are generally sent to a former tenant’s new residence but they don’t always leave a forwarding address.
The hope of shifting the responsibility onto the landlords is that it will motivate them to make sure their tenants are all paid up on their bills before they move out since it will be coming out of their pocket if they are not.
Berger noted that this is a pretty common procedure that a lot of municipalities are implementing, after experiencing similar issues with having to cover the cost of unpaid utility bills.
