END THE UTILITY BILLING SCAM!
TELL L.A. CITY COUNCIL TO
BAN RUBS
Corporate landlords are hiding rent increases inside confusing utility bills.
Los Angeles has a chance to stop it—but the current proposal doesn't go far enough!
Send a message to City Council TODAY!
Featured Press & Media
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L.A. renters are billed for shared utilities. Some won’t pay until they can see the math behind the charges
Across Los Angeles, renters say shared utility bills have soared unpredictably under formula-based systems run by third-party companies, while requests to see the underlying math go unanswered.
Tenants are organizing bill strikes and urging city officials to ban ratio utility billing systems, or RUBS.
Audrey McGlinchy
August 26, 2026
Photo: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times -
L.A. Renters Push to Ban a Utility Billing System They Say Leaves Them Guessing
Tenants and advocates are calling for an end to a utility billing practice that they say lacks transparency and causes them anxiety by making monthly bills unpredictable.
Erin Rode
August 26, 2026
Photo: Christopher Peters/Getty Images. -
Their utility bills skyrocketed, so they stopped paying them. Will the city change how these bills are calculated across LA?
A city department recommends a ban for rent-stabilized units, but some tenants want one citywide.
Phoenix Tso
July 20, 2026 -
LA tenants' strikes forced a major landlord to refund opaque utility fees. Their fight isn't over.
A commonly used billing system can allow landlords to quietly shift building utility costs onto tenants. Tenants say it’s time to break open the black box.
Photo credit: Shelterforce
October 10, 2025 -
These LA tenants saw some utility fees double. So they went on strike
Two tenants associations have launched a RUBS strike, paying their rent but not their RUBS utilities fees!
Photo: Virgil Square Tenants Association
Credit: Phoenix Tso / LA Public Press
August 13, 2025 -
L.A. tenants demand their landlord stop charging hundreds of dollars in utility fees
Mozaic at Union Square tenant Paige Gresty speaks at a press conference convened by her neighbors and tenants from Virgil Square Apartments, both of which are owned and managed by Equity Residential. Mozaic and Virgil Square tenants want Equity Residential to reveal exactly how they calculate utility fees that can add more than $200 to their rent.
Photo by Phoenix Tso.
Credit: Phoenix Tso / LA Public Press
May 8, 2025