Q: Am I obligated to pay for water/sewage bills without written notice in Maryland?
I have been renting a property in Maryland on a month-to-month basis for about a year and a half now, without a lease agreement. Since living without a lease, I was not required to pay for water and sewage bills. Recently, the property management informed me that I would now be responsible for a monthly water/sewage bill. I was not notified of this change in writing or verbally. When I asked the property manager about these charges, she mentioned that an email was sent from the water company back in January, but I never received any direct notice. Am I legally obligated to pay these charges without a written or verbal notification from my landlord or property management?
A:
Generally speaking, no. In order to be liable, there would have to be a written agreement to that effect. Otherwise, it's generally assumed that utilities are included in the rent.
However, I will note that if you refuse to do so and you are on a month-to-month lease, the logical move on their part would be to send you a 60 day notice to vacate and use that as leverage to either get you to agree in writing to paying the utilities or to get rid of you to find a tenant who will agree to such.
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