An Act To Protect Landlords When Tenants Fail To Pay Utility Bills
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §704, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A. Agreements with landlords. A transmission and distribution utility shall, upon request of a landlord, enter into an agreement with that landlord with respect to a residential rental property receiving transmission and distribution service in the name of that landlord's tenant to automatically transfer the service to the name of the landlord if the service would otherwise be disconnected. The transmission and distribution utility must notify the landlord within 72 hours of the transfer of the service to the landlord's name. Except upon the consent of the tenant, the transmission and distribution utility may not disclose to the landlord any personal or confidential information regarding the tenant or the tenant's account, except that a utility may disclose to the landlord that the service has been transferred to the landlord's name and any other information necessary to enable the utility to continue service to the premises.
The transmission and distribution utility may charge a reasonable fee for the costs associated with the transfer of the service to the landlord's name.
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 126th Legislature, First Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.