The bill needs a unit-specific meter
Connecticut's new utility-charge law took effect October 1 for residential rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after that date. Public Act 26-113 prohibits a lease provision requiring a tenant to pay utilities billed to the tenant when no separate meter measures utilities delivered exclusively to that dwelling.
The enacted text makes prohibited provisions unenforceable. That gives a specific benchmark for a separate utility charge, not a declaration that all utility-related costs in every lease disappear.
Included utilities are not the same as separate billing
The legislature's official summary notes that landlords may generally estimate building utility costs and include them in rent under the cited court framework. The distinction is between that rent structure and a separately billed utility obligation without the required exclusive meter.
Check the lease date, renewal, meter arrangement and actual bill before asking for a correction. A common building meter does not by itself explain every permissible rent component, while a charge labeled "utilities" still needs scrutiny under the new text. The current law narrows what covered leases may require; it does not guarantee a fixed refund for every older agreement or every high energy bill.