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(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.84)
1. Water Service Exemption. The lien for nonpayment shall not apply to charges for water service to a residential or commercial rental property where water service is separately metered and the rates or charges for the water service are paid directly to the City by the tenant, if the landlord gives written notice to the City that the property is residential or commercial rental property and that the tenant is liable for the rates or charges. The City may require a deposit not exceeding the usual cost of 90 days of such services to be paid to the City. When the tenant moves from the rental property, the City shall refund the deposit if all service charges are paid in full. The lien exemption does not apply to delinquent charges for repairs related to any of the services.
2. Other Service Exemption. The lien for nonpayment shall also not apply to the charges for any of the services of sewer systems, storm water drainage systems, sewage treatment, solid waste collection, and solid waste disposal for a residential rental property where the charge is paid directly to the City by the tenant, if the landlord gives written notice to the City that the property is residential rental property and that the tenant is liable for the rates or charges for such service. The City may require a deposit not exceeding the usual cost of 90 days of such services to be paid to the City. When the tenant moves from the rental property, the City shall refund the deposit if all service charges are paid in full. The lien exemption does not apply to delinquent charges for repairs related to any of the services.
3. Written Notice. The landlord’s written notice shall contain the name of the tenant responsible for charges, the address of the residential or commercial rental property that the tenant is to occupy, and the date that the occupancy begins. Upon receipt, the City shall acknowledge the notice and deposit. A change in tenant for a residential rental property shall require a new written notice to be given to the City within 30 business days of the change in tenant. A change in tenant for a commercial rental property shall require a new written notice to be given to the City within 10 business days of the change in tenant. A change in the ownership of the residential rental property shall require written notice of such change to be given to the City within 30 business days of the completion of the change of ownership. A change in the ownership of the commercial rental property shall require written notice of such change to be given to the City within 10 business days of the completion of the change of ownership.
4. Mobile Homes, Modular Homes, and Manufactured Homes. A lien for nonpayment of utility services described in Subsections 1 and 2 of this section shall not be placed upon a premises that is a mobile home, modular home, or manufactured home if the mobile home, modular home, or manufactured home is owned by a tenant of and located in a mobile home park or manufactured home community and the mobile home park or manufactured home community owner or manager is the account holder, unless the lease agreement specifies that the tenant is responsible for payment of a portion of the rates or charges billed to the account holder.
A lien for delinquent water service charges shall not be certified to the County Treasurer unless prior written notice of intent to certify a lien is given to the customer in whose name the delinquent charges were incurred. If the customer is a tenant, the notice shall also be given to the owner or landlord. The notice shall be sent to the appropriate persons by ordinary mail not less than thirty (30) days prior to certification of the lien to the County Treasurer.
(Ord. 1719 – Apr. 12 Supp.)
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.84)
There shall be required from every customer not the owner of the premises served a one hundred dollar ($100.00) deposit intended to guarantee the payment of bills for service. The deposit will be invoiced on the first bill. The deposit will be applied to the final bill when the customer notifies the utility of the date the service is to be terminated and provides a forwarding address for use in mailing a refund in the event the final bill is less than the deposit.
(Ord. 1719 – Apr. 12 Supp.)
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 384.84)
A property owner may request water service be temporarily discontinued and shut off at the curb valve when the property is expected to be vacant for an extended period of time. There shall be a $25.00 fee collected for restoring service during normal working hours or $40.00 if the restoration service is requested at a time other than during normal working hours. During a period when service is temporarily discontinued as provided herein there shall be no service availability charge. The City will not drain pipes or pull meters for temporary vacancies.
Leak allowances for sewer and/or water usage fees may be granted on a one time only per customer basis, after a leak has been discovered and repaired. The volume of water leaked will be calculated based upon the metered water usage while the leak was present, not to exceed three months, compared to the normal metered water usage with no leak. Allowances are available for inside plumbing leaks, but not for leaks in irrigation systems or other exterior water fixtures. The leak allowance consists of a credit of 50% of the billed amount for the volume of leaked water.
(Ord. 1719 – Apr. 12 Supp.)
In the event of the discovery by the City of Ankeny of an error in the amount billed for water service, the amount due to or from the affected customer to rectify the billing error shall be refunded or collected within 45 days. For billing error periods that exceed five (5) years, the amount to be refunded or collected shall be limited by a retroactive adjustment to no more than five (5) years prior to the date of the discovery of the billing error.
(Ord. 1941 - May 18 Supp.)