PHOENIX — The operators of a southern Arizona mobile home park will be issuing water bill credits of over $1,000 to tenants after overcharging them, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday.
Skyline Real Estate, which operates the Desert Haven Mobile Home Park in Tucson, admitted that residents were overcharged on their water bills between 2017 and June 2025.
All residents who were affected will receive a credit on their bills in September, with some getting a credit exceeding $1,000.
“Mobile home residents in Arizona should pay the correct amount they owe for utilities and not a penny more,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release. “I’m glad to see residents get their money back, but these mobile home residents shouldn’t have been overcharged for utilities in the first place.”
How did Tucson mobile home park residents get overcharged for water?
According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Skyline Real Estate bills residents of the Desert Haven Mobile Home park for water using a process called submetering, where the landlord pays a utility company for the service provided to a property and then charges tenants according to their use based on readings from a submeter located at each mobile home.
Mayes’ office has been receiving an increasing number of complaints about the practice, at least one of which led to an investigation being opened up at Desert Haven and the discovery of the landlord overcharging tenants.
In this case, water bills sent to residents did not follow the billing format from the Flowing Wells Irrigation District, which services the mobile home park.
That is a violation of the Arizona Mobile Homes Parks Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, part of which governs submetering, according to prosecutors.
How can mobile home park tenants make sure they are not being overcharged?
In order to make sure they are not being overcharged, the attorney general’s office has these tips:
- Know how to read your submeter and take pictures of the readings in case you need to dispute your bill.
- Make sure you are receiving an itemized bill that includes the meter readings, the dates of the reading and how much you are being charged.
- Identify the utility provider for your property and make sure the amount you are being charged matches how much the utility would be charging you if you were a direct customer.
- If there is a discrepancy, file a complaint in writing with your landlord.
- If necessary, file a petition to request a hearing about the discrepancy with the Arizona Department of Housing.
Tenants who face eviction notices after not paying for utilities they believe they were overcharged for should seek help from a private attorney immediately, Mayes said.
The post Arizona mobile home landlord to give credit to tenants after overcharging for water appeared first on KTAR.
