A 5171 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes certain water and wastewater utility shutoff protections for tenants.

This bill establishes protections for tenants in New Jersey against the disconnection of water and wastewater services when the property owner is the utility customer. It requires utility companies to provide a 30-day written notice before shutting off service and prohibits disconnection if the tenant informs the provider they are not the customer of record or lives in a multi-unit building with a single service connection. Under these rules, any unpaid bills must be collected from the property owner rather than the tenant, and the owner cannot later seek reimbursement from the tenant for those costs. The Department of Community Affairs and the Board of Public Utilities are tasked with notifying utilities of these new requirements and creating regulations to enforce them.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jun 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jun 1, 2026 Last action Jun 1, 2026
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Jun 1, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Shanique Speight
Shanique Speight
DDemocratic
NJ
29