People try to clown us on Facebook when we put water and sewer included on a listing, like it is obvious, duh, of course it is. Here is the truth about that.
On most Fall River apartments we manage, it is just how the building is piped. There is one city meter in the basement. The city sends the owner the bill. So the lease includes water and sewer, and we write it on the listing because we have to say who pays, not because it is rare.
That is the Fall River version. It is not a Massachusetts rule that every rent includes water. Who pays is in the lease. If a landlord wants the tenant on a separate water bill, there is a legal path for that, and one shared building meter is not that path. The last apartment you rented does not rewrite this one.
Two minutes, filmed in Fall River: Apartment Mythbuster: Why Water and Sewer Are Included (September 24, 2026). Also on Shorts.
I filmed the myth-buster in a unit that was all electric. Electric stove, electric baseboard, so the tenant’s utility life is basically one National Grid bill. That apartment also included hot water, which is the exception.
Fall River practice: one meter, landlord pays
Walk a typical Fall River three-family or a six-unit and look for the water meter. You usually find one for the building, not one per apartment. The city bills the owner. You cannot split that bill apartment by apartment, because there is only one meter.
That is why most Fall River apartment rentals include water and sewer. We still write it on the listing. Disclosure is the job. I will tell you if a unit does not include it.
When does a Fall River tenant pay water and sewer? On a single-family house that is the obvious case: one unit, one meter. Some condos and townhouses are set up that way too, those vary. Or when the owner actually followed the statute. Some newer buildings may be separately metered. I will not pretend I have walked every new stack. If the listing says you pay water and sewer, believe the listing and ask how the meter is set up before you apply.
What Massachusetts law actually says
Massachusetts law does not say every lease includes water. Chapter 186, section 22 does not create an automatic included-in-rent rule. It sets the path for charging a tenant separately for water, and for sewer charges calculated from the same meter or submeter. The state sanitary code at 105 CMR 410 ties that path to a written agreement and a certification form.
- A landlord may install submeters (licensed plumber, stated accuracy) so each unit’s own use is measured, with common areas metered too.
- Separate charges require certification to the local board of health, including water-saving fixtures and proper meter installation.
- New separate charges tie to a new tenancy, not a quiet mid-lease dump of a water bill.
- The submeter must measure only that unit’s water, not halls or other apartments.
- There must be a written rental agreement that clearly says there is a separate charge and explains the billing in plain language.
- The landlord stays the water company’s customer of record and cannot shut off water because the tenant missed that separate bill.
- Public housing called out in that section cannot have these water-usage charges put on the tenant.
One shared building meter does not get you there. Fortified is not going to “save” an owner money by pretending a common meter is a submeter.
If water and sewer are inside the rent, say so in plain English. If the tenant pays the city or a lawful submetered charge, say who pays, how it is billed, and when it is due. Vague “tenant pays utilities” that never names water and sewer is how the Facebook fights start. If you are not lawfully submetering, do not invent a side bill.
Educational only. Not legal advice. Read the statute and talk to counsel if you are an owner trying to shift water onto tenants. For a specific building, talk to a lawyer and the local health or code enforcement office when submetering is on the table.
Hot water is the part that trips people up
Water and sewer are the water coming through the pipes and the city sewer charge that rides with it. Hot water is different. Hot water is the electricity, gas, oil, or propane it takes to heat that water.
On a lot of Fall River apartments the landlord pays the water coming through the heater and the tenant pays the energy that makes it hot. Electric water heater on your National Grid bill. Gas or propane on your Liberty or propane account. Oil if the building still lives that way. Generally, the heat-the-water cost is on the tenant.
Sometimes it is not. In the unit on camera, hot water was included because of how the building is set up. The landlord pays it. That is a listing fact, not a city-wide rule. If the ad says hot water is included, that is extra information on top of water and sewer. If the ad is silent on hot water, assume you are buying the fuel.
Water included is not the same sentence as hot water included. Hot water included does not change the meter story on cold water and sewer.
Facebook objections
“The landlord has to pay water.” Not as a statewide rule. In Fall River the owner is often the customer of record on the city account, and the lease usually includes it. That is not the same as a state law that water is free inside every rent. The lease, and lawful submetering when it is used, decide what the tenant owes.
“It is illegal to charge tenants for sewer.” Section 22 says the water rules also apply to sewer charges calculated from the same meter. Illegal is charging outside that path: wrong meters, no written disclosure, no certification, or extra admin fees the law forbids.
“My last place included it so this one has to.” The last lease is not a state mandate. Read this lease.
“You put it on the listing like it is a perk.” We put it on the listing because we have to disclose who pays. On most of our Fall River apartments the answer is the landlord, because there is one meter. I will tell you when that is not true.
The Fall River city bill
The city collector’s page: water and sewer bills are quarterly, due thirty days after they go out, with late interest and possible demand fees. Continued nonpayment can land on the next real-estate tax bill or lead to a shutoff. That is the city bill. It does not say landlords must include water and sewer in the rent. On multifamily buildings the city bill often lands on the owner. Whether the lease includes that cost, or uses lawful submetering, is still the lease and the statute. I am not posting today’s rates here. They change.
If you came here because a listing felt like it was hiding a fee, that is a different post. Resident benefits packages are the mystery monthly add-on on top of advertised rent. Fortified does not run one. The rent on the listing is the rent. Shared-meter water is not a $12 product.
Read the utility block on every listing. Current units are on /rent/. Apply for $0. Disclosures sit on Renting with Fortified. Owners who want Fortified on the building use property management or the lease-up page.
Call or text (508) 671-7228 if a specific unit’s utility lines are unclear. I would rather say it twice than have you find out on the first city bill.
Comment if I am wrong. Someone always does. Bring the meter and the lease.
Sources: Massachusetts legislature, chapter 186 section 22; Mass.gov submetering page; state sanitary code; City of Fall River collector utility page. Fortified Realty Group YouTube, September 24, 2026.
Fall River water and sewer FAQs
Is water and sewer included in rent in Fall River?
Usually yes, on Fall River apartments that share one building meter. The city bills the owner, so the lease usually includes water and sewer. We still write it on the listing. Separate tenant water is the exception.
Is water and sewer automatically included in rent in Massachusetts?
No. Inclusion is a lease term. Massachusetts does not have an automatic included-in-rent rule. Separate billing follows M.G.L. c. 186, § 22 and the state sanitary code when that path is used. A prior apartment that included water does not rewrite the next lease.
When can a landlord charge a tenant separately for water or sewer?
When the unit has its own meter or a lawful submeter path: exclusive use measured, conservation fixtures, licensed plumber, board-of-health certification, and a written rental agreement that says so in plain language. One shared building meter does not get you there. A sloppy side charge is the risk.
Is hot water the same as water and sewer?
No. Water and sewer are the water in the pipes and the sewer charge. Hot water is the electric, gas, oil, or propane that heats it. The water can be on the landlord and the fuel on you. Generally the heat-the-water cost is the tenant’s. Some buildings include hot water too. Read both lines.
What if my last apartment included water?
That lease is over. Read this one. Who pays is a lease question first, then whether the building is on one meter or a lawful separate-billing path.
What should the lease say?
Who pays water and sewer, whether that cost sits inside the rent, and if it is billed separately, the clear written disclosure the law requires. Fortified writes leases that say who pays what. Questions on a unit: 508-671-7228.