When a landlord rents or leases property, the landlord, as the owner of the property, is responsible for the payment of the sanitary sewer bill. The Collier Township Municipal Authority ("Authority") has the right to file a municipal lien against the property for failure of a tenant to pay the sewer rental charges that appear on the water bills received by the tenant from the water company. As such, landlords should consider signing up with the Pennsylvania-American Water Company's Landlord Revert Agreement Program, whereby each time a tenant moves out of a rental property, the account automatically reverts back to the landlord's name. To participate, a landlord must pay a one-time activation fee as set forth in Chapter
SD45, Rates and Charges, to the water company. For more information, contact the Pennsylvania-American Water Company Customer Call Center at 800-565-7292.
Landlords should check with their tenants on a regular basis
to make certain that the tenant is paying the sewer portion of the
Pennsylvania-American Water Company bill current.
A. If a landlord desires to check on the status of a tenant's account,
the landlord can call the Authority's office and verify that he/she
is a landlord and that he/she owns the property. The Authority will
advise the landlord of the status of the sewer account on his/her
property.
B. A landlord should also contact the Authority with the name and address
of his/her tenant and the date the tenant moves in or moves out. A
landlord may want to determine the status of the sewage account when
a tenant moves out and prior to releasing the security deposit that
the landlord may hold.
C. Remember, if a tenant does not pay the sewer account, the Authority
will look to the landlord, as the owner of the property, for payment.
Landlords should protect themselves by verifying that tenants are
satisfying their obligations on a monthly basis.