House Services in Seattle

ELECTRICITY: http://www.seattle.gov/light/ Electricity: Seattle City Light (SCL) provides electricity to the premises and tenants must have their own electricity accounts for the period of time when they reside at the premises. Each day, SCL electric meters send their usage reading to their billing office; however, to validate accuracy, when a tenant moves in and out, the electric meter will be read physically and the reading will be noted on the lease documentation. With the information provided in the application, the landlord will start a SCL account in the tenant’s name. New accounts are typically charged a New Account Fee. If a tenant had a recent SCL account in their name, the SCL account may be transferred, which typically avoids a New Account Fee. Additional information may be found on the SCL website. Sewer, Water, Garbage: http://www.seattle.gov/util/ Water, Sewer and Solid Waste: Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) provides Water, Sewer, and Solid Waste. The SPU bill accounts for Water and Sewer separately from Solid Waste. Garbage/Solid Waste: Solid Waste is segregated into three waste streams: 1) garbage, 2) yard/kitchen waste and 3) recycling, and there is a separate bin for each waste stream. SPU has very strict regulations regarding what waste stream item is allowed in each collection bin. Itemization of which waste stream any disposal items belongs to may be found on the SPU website, on the chart posted in the basement, and on the lids to each bin. Seattle solid waste collectors inspect the contents of the bins to ensure the protocol is being met; and they either refuse to empty bins with improper waste stream items or impose fees for placing waste items in the wrong collection bin. Tenants pay for their own SPU services, so it is recommended that tenants properly sort waste streams and place all disposal items fully inside the bin so that the lid closes. Tenants are responsible for placing the bins at the edge of the street or the alley before 7am on collection day. The collection day may be found on the SPU website and the manager will instruct tenants where the bins must be placed for pick up. Additional information may be found on the SPU website. Bin Sizes: When tenants move in, there are already three bins on the premises ready for tenants use. Recycling and Yard Waste bins are 96-gallons each. The Recycling bin is large enough to accommodate the tenant’s recycling, and is free. The large yard Waste bin is required to accommodate the tenant’s food waste as well as the lawn/yard clippings, and costs significantly less than garbage. The garbage bin is the size chosen by the previous tenant but new tenants may choose the size bin that they prefer by notifying the manager. Bin sizes and associated costs are shown on the website. The new bin may take a few weeks to receive. Garbage and Yard Waste are collected every week. Recycling is collected every other week. Additional information may be found on the SPU website. SPU Billing: Tenant are responsible for paying SPU charges for the period of time when they reside at the premises. SPU requires that billing remain in the owner’s name and will not allow tenants to set up their own accounts. SPU does not issue opening or closing bills when tenants move in or out. Instead, every two months SPU sends a hard copy of the bill to the owner along with a copy to the service address titled “Tenant”. To further complicate their billing, SPU bills for water and sewer after the services have been delivered but bills for solid waste services in advance. One SPU bill may have charges for periods of time when previous tenants resided in the house, when the house was vacant and/or when the new tenant occupies the house. During the first few months of residency, and at move-out, the manager will calculate the tenant’s portion of the SPU invoice and send the tenant a copy of the calculation. Tenants may confirm the calculation based on the bill they receive from SPU. The tenant must pay the owner the amount calculated to be the tenant’s responsibility within one week of receiving the owner’s calculation, or when the manager indicates with the tenant’s bill. Tenants will be notified once the SPU bill is entirely the tenant’s responsibility and it will be the tenant’s responsibility to pay the full SPU bill on time. Additional information may be found on the SPU website. Natural Gas: http://www.pse.com Natural Gas: Puget Sound Energy (PSE) provides natural gas to the premises and is the fuel for the efficient furnace. Some houses also have efficient natural gas hot water heaters. Tenants must have their own natural gas accounts for the period of time when they reside at the premises. Each day, PSE gas meters send their usage reading to their billing office; however, to validate accuracy, when a tenant moves in and out, the electric meter will be read physically and the reading will be noted on the lease documentation. With the information provided in the application, the landlord will start a PSE account in the tenant’s name. Additional information may be found on the PSE website. TV, Cable Internet, VoIP- Optional Services: https://www.xfinity.com Cable Services: Xfinity, formerly Comcast, is the predominate cable service provider in the Seattle area. Information may be found on the Xfinity website. There are other providers for these optional services. Landline and DSL – Optional Services: https://www.centurylink.com. Phone Company Services: Century Link, formerly Qwest, is the landline phone and DSL provider in Seattle area. Information may be found on the Century Link website.