D.C. Council member Charles Allen introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at providing greater transparency and establishing clear timelines for when D.C. Water can disconnect service to District homes.
Allen, a Ward 6 Democrat, introduced the D.C. Water Billing and Disconnection Modernization Amendment Act of 2025 as the utility faces more than $35 million in unpaid bills for water and sewer services. Earlier this year, D.C. Water began initiating service disconnections at apartment buildings and other multifamily properties across the District, from small multiplexes to large market-rate buildings housing hundreds of residents.
In some cases, residents had been paying their water bills to landlords as part of their rent, only to be surprised by disconnection notices because landlords had not paid the building’s water bill to D.C. Water.
“Water is a basic human need, so disconnecting water service is very serious,” Allen said. “While DC Water needs to be paid for its critical services that keep our city running, property owners deserve more information, and tenants also need to know if their landlord hasn’t been paying the water bill and what to do next.”
Unlike electric service, many large apartment buildings in the District do not have individual water meters for each unit. Instead, a single master meter serves the entire building, with landlords collecting water payments from tenants and assuming responsibility for the bill.
The bill would create clear timelines for billing and disconnections, including additional time for seniors and people with disabilities, and prohibit water disconnections during periods of extreme heat or cold.
It would require D.C. Water to notify tenants in every unit of a multifamily building when a disconnection is pending, using languages spoken by residents. The legislation would allow tenants to establish water service in their own names, even in buildings with a single meter, when landlords have not paid the bill.
The measure would also require D.C. Water to notify the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection about water bill arrears and establish amnesty and incentive programs to help landlords get in good standing, including incentives for installing individual water meters in each unit.
D.C. Water would be required to report monthly to the council on disconnections, delinquencies, liens and other enforcement actions.
The legislation builds on emergency and temporary legislation the council passed this summer to require clearer and more timely notices when a disconnection is pending.
City council members Robert White, Brooke Pinto, Janeese Lewis George, Matt Frumin, Trayon White and Brianne K. Nadeau co-introduced the bill.