Billing errors—In general.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-65
in effectSec. 47-65. - Billing errors—In general.
Subject to the provisions of this article, the department shall charge for all water that passes through the water meter.
If the department commits a billing error, it shall correct the customer's bill as soon as it discovers the incorrect billing. If the incorrect billing is an overcharge that is more than six times the customer's average bill, the department shall refund the overcharge to the customer at the request of the customer. Provided, however, if the customer can show extreme economic hardship to the utility official, the department shall refund the overcharge to the customer notwithstanding the amount of the overcharge. The utility official shall determine whether extreme economic hardship exists. In cases where the overcharge is not refunded, the department shall credit the customer's account the amount of the overcharge to be applied to the charges thereafter accruing.
Subject to the provisions of this article, for non-residential customers, contract treated water customers, or contract untreated water customers, the department may not correct any billing error that occurred more than two years prior to the date the department learns of the error. For residential customers, if the correction results in a credit for the customer, the department shall correct the error that occurred up to two years prior to the date the department learns of the error. If the correction results in the residential customer owing the department money, the department shall correct the error that occurred up to three months prior to the date the department learns of the error. However, in the case of fraud or theft of city water or sewer service, the city reserves the right to recover the amount owed by the customer back to the date of the fraud or theft.
(Code 1968, § 49-56; Ord. No. 06-502, § 1, 5-17-06; Ord. No. 2023-1127, § 2, 12-13-2023)
Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH47WASE_ARTIICIWASECH_DIV1GE_S47-65BIERNGEFetched: 10/26/2026