Unpaid Bill Leads To Water Shutoff In Rented Home; Archaic Law Prohibits City From Accepting Tenant's Payment Towards Delinquent Landlord's Account

In Syracuse, New York, The Post Standard reports:

• Syracuse resident Freddie Wells would like to pay a water bill for his landlord, who owes $210, Wells said. It would be worth scraping together the extra money if it meant he could stay in the [] home he has rented for five years, Wells said. But the Syracuse Water Department — which shut off Wells’ water Monday — says a tenant can’t pay the water bill after service has been shut off. Only the property owner can. Today, Wells can’t brush his teeth, bathe, or do his dishes at home. “I don’t want to move,” Wells said. “It’s a very nice house.”

• The city law office is trying to help renters like Wells keep their water, said Corporation Counsel Juanita Perez Williams. New legislation her office is working on would allow tenants to make water payments to the city in lieu of paying rent to their landlords, she said.

For more, see Syracuse may let tenants use rent to pay landlords' delinquent water bills (if link expires, try here).