The obligation for the payment of utilities is purely a function of what the lease contract provides. Virtually all leases specify whether the landlord or the tenant will be responsible for utilities. Consequently, the issue of who pays if there is no agreement comes up rarely. If the lease contract is silent on the issue and there is no indication that the landlord has agreed to pay for the tenant's utilities, generally those utilities will be the tenants' responsibility. One possible exception to this presumption is the water bill. Water represents the only utility for which the utility provider, if the bill is unpaid, can place a lien on the landlord's property. Because of this (and because up until several decades ago, most water bills were fixed monthly charges) many landlords have built the cost of water into their lease rates. Among realtors a presumption has developed over the years regarding the sale or leasing of property, that unless otherwise agreed to, the owner of the property will be responsible for water. One could potentially argue that by industry custom the landlord is responsible for water when the lease is silent on the issue. However, we are aware of no published case which would support that position. Consequently, such an argument is a relativity risky proposition. The much better practice is to make sure your lease agreement clearly spells out who is and is not responsible for all the various utilities.