The San Jose City Council on Tuesday approved guidelines for property owners to phase out the use of ratio-utility billing systems, also known as RUBS, to charge tenants for utilities.

The council greenlighted the phase-out process one month after voting to ban the use of RUBS in the city’s rent controlled housing, defined as buildings constructed before 1979 with three units or more.

Some property owners use RUBS to divide utility bills among tenants based on the number of renters in the building or square footage.

Landlords with existing tenants who are paying a RUBS charge can petition for …

This resource contains member-only content

CAA members have access to compliance forms, educational tools, and extended news resources related to this topic.