Wilmington · Newark · New Castle County · Dover · Sussex County
Delaware law expressly lets landlords meter each apartment and bill residents for the water they use. AQUEES recommends the meters, your licensed plumber installs them, and we read every unit monthly and prepare bills that follow the state's rules.
25 Del. C. § 5312 lets a landlord install a meter for each unit and bill for measured use, and says that landlord is not a public utility.
The City of Wilmington bills the property owner for water and sewer and does not put bills in a tenant's name. Without unit meters, every unit's use lands on the owner.
Delaware requires bills at least monthly from actual meter readings. AQUEES reads every unit every month, so the billing is built to that rule.
Unit-by-unit reads show a running toilet or hidden leak within weeks. In Artesian's New Castle County area, water and sewer already run about $54 a month for a typical apartment.
| Topic | What 25 Del. C. § 5312 and related law say | How AQUEES applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Permission to bill | A landlord may install unit meters and charge for utility service separately only if the rental agreement provides for it, and only for service that is separately metered (§ 5312(a)). | We meter each unit and check that your lease has a utility clause before billing starts. |
| Meter approval | The metering system must be approved by the Division of Weights and Measures (§ 5312(a)). | We confirm the meter model's approval before your plumber installs. |
| Billing and readings | Bills at least monthly, reasonable efforts to read meters, no more than two estimated bills in a row, and actual readings at the start and end of each lease (§ 5312(f)). | Every unit is read every month; move-in and move-out reads are recorded. |
| Records and meter tests | Tenants may inspect billing records, kept for one year, and ask for a meter test; the tenant pays for the test if the meter proves accurate (§ 5312(d), (g)). | Records are kept and available; we support a meter test on request. |
| Rent and shutoffs | Utility charges count as rent, and the landlord may not cut off utility service for nonpayment of rent or utility charges, or for any other breach (§ 5312(e)). | Billing never involves shutting off a resident. |
| Public utility status | A landlord that submeters and bills tenants is not deemed a public utility (§ 5312(h)). | No Public Service Commission filing is needed for the owner. |
| Condominiums | To the extent the declaration requires, utility costs are assessed in proportion to usage (25 Del. C. § 81-315(c)). | We review the declaration with the board first. |
| Installation | Plumbing work in rental property needs a licensed master plumber (24 Del. C. § 1807). | Your licensed plumber installs the meters we specify. |
General information, not legal advice. Checked October 13, 2026. Manufactured-home communities follow separate rules (25 Del. C. ch. 70), and some town water codes, such as Rehoboth Beach's, restrict reselling water; ask us about your building.
Send recent water bills, plans and the unit count. No site visit needed. We show what each unit would be billed and what the building would recover.
Your licensed plumber reviews the plan and installs the meters we recommend. AQUEES does not send its own crew.
We read every unit each month and prepare unit bills at actual cost, following § 5312.
Leak and high-use alerts, monthly reports, and records residents can review.
AQUEES is new to Delaware. Because your own plumber installs, we can support a building anywhere in the state from the first month, backed by 100+ properties and 1,000+ units across the Mid-Atlantic region since 2010.
Yes. 25 Del. C. § 5312 lets a landlord install a meter for each unit and bill residents for measured use when the lease provides for it, at no more than actual cost, using a metering system approved by the Division of Weights and Measures. A landlord that does this is not deemed a public utility.
No. Delaware caps utility charges at the actual cost of the service, so the AQUEES service is paid by the owner, not added to resident bills. Fixed charges that are not based on usage may be shared among units.
Only once the rental agreement provides for separate utility charges, which usually means at renewal or with a lease amendment the tenant signs. We help you plan the switch building by building.
Not exactly. A condominium follows its declaration, and manufactured-home communities follow chapter 70 of Title 25. We review the governing documents with you first.
A licensed Delaware master plumber installs the meters we specify. AQUEES supplies the plan, reads every unit monthly and prepares the bills, so we serve buildings across Delaware.
Send us a recent water bill and your unit count. We reply within one business day.
Or call 202-681-3558
We serve DC, MD, VA, PA and DE. See also: Washington, DC · Baltimore, MD · Norfolk & Virginia Beach, VA · Pennsylvania
