Boston Water and Sewer Bills: Shutoff Rules, the Senior Discount and What Tenants Can Do
In Boston, water and sewer bills go to the property owner, and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) has to follow a slow, written process before it can turn off water. That gives owners, seniors and tenants time to act. This guide shows where you fit and what to do first.
AT A GLANCE
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The 75-day rule
BWSC sends bills monthly. Each bill is due 30 days after it's printed. If the bill isn't paid, the Commission's Billing, Termination and Appeal Regulations (January 1, 2024) set out what happens next:
Step | What the regulations and BWSC say |
|---|---|
Day 31 after the billing date | A delinquency charge starts on unpaid amounts, at a daily rate of 0.03836% (14% a year) |
30 days past the due date | The account can be considered for termination if it's still unpaid, unless a payment plan allows longer |
At least 60 days past the due date | BWSC mails a Final Notice and Demand to the owner's billing address and posts a copy at the property |
At least 15 days after the notice | The earliest the shutoff can be scheduled |
The day before the shutoff | BWSC checks that notices went out, no payment came in and no appeal is pending |
The shutoff itself | Only from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Never on a holiday or the day before one |
Put together, there are at least 75 days between a missed due date and the earliest possible shutoff. During that time, you can set up a plan, file a hardship certificate or dispute the bill.
There's a second, slower track for the property itself. Once charges are three months overdue, BWSC may send the owner a formal demand. BWSC then charges 16% interest instead of the 14% delinquency charge. If the balance still isn't paid, BWSC can take the property in the same way the City of Boston does for unpaid taxes. BWSC says it moves to foreclosure on properties that are still delinquent six months after the taking. A water bill can't be ignored just because the water is still running.
"Tenants are not responsible for a landlord's outstanding balance." (Boston Water and Sewer Commission)
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Find your situation
If you own the home and you're behind
Call Collections at 617-989-7070. BWSC says it is "ready to work together" with customers on "manageable payment arrangements." Under the regulations, you sign a written payment plan agreement that lists the conditions for stopping a shutoff.
Keep the plan. The regulations say that breaking the agreement will lead to termination under the normal rules.
Pay the right way if a Final Notice has arrived. After a Final Notice and Demand, a payment to stop the shutoff has to be in cash, electronic, by credit card, or by certified or bank cashier's check. Make sure a designated BWSC representative enters a stop termination order and gives you a receipt.
Choose how you pay. Card payments carry a third-party convenience fee of $4.25 for every $650. Cash, electronic check or a mailed check have no fee.
If you're 65 or older, or fully disabled
There are two separate protections. People often confuse them.
Protection | Who qualifies | How it works |
|---|---|---|
30% discount | Homeowners 65+ or fully disabled who live in a 1–4 family home they own. Condos and commercial properties don't qualify | Apply with the Elderly & Disability Discount Form (on paper or by DocuSign). Include proof of age, such as a birth certificate, driver's license or MBTA senior pass. For disability, include a doctor's certificate or an award letter from Social Security or the VA |
Shutoff protection | Customers living in a home where every resident is 65 or older, with a documented financial hardship | File a Certificate of Financial Hardship. For senior households, it must be renewed monthly |
BWSC defines "fully disabled" as unable to engage in substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental impairment that has lasted, or will last, at least 12 months. Properties held in trust can still get the discount if the applicant is both a trustee and a beneficiary and sends a copy of the recorded trust.
If every resident is 65 or older, you can also ask BWSC to send copies of past-due bills, termination notices and hearing notices to someone you choose, such as an adult child. That person isn't liable for the bill.
If someone in the home is seriously ill
An owner-occupant can delay a shutoff, or get service restored, if the customer or a direct family member is seriously ill and the illness causes a documented financial hardship. The regulations limit "serious illness" to conditions that need a healthcare provider's continuous supervision, or that need water to run medical equipment. Colds, flu and broken bones don't count.
You can start the process by phone with Collections at 617-989-7070.
Within seven days, the doctor or local board of health must send a written certificate. You must also send a Certificate of Financial Hardship.
Renew it every 30 days, or every 90 days if the illness is certified as chronic. Include a new hardship certificate each time.
When the illness or hardship ends, the full balance comes due.
If you rent
Most Boston renters never see a water bill, so a shutoff notice taped to the building can be the first sign of a problem. The regulations give tenants a way to keep the water on:
Show proof that you live there, such as a utility bill or driver's license.
Pay a projected 30-day bill for the building, plus the turn-on fee if the water is already off. Payment has to be cash, credit card, or certified or bank check. One tenant can pay, or a group of tenants can pay together.
BWSC says you can then deduct that amount from the rent you pay your landlord.
Call Collections at 617-989-7070 to get the projected amount. Keep every receipt, and give your landlord a copy with your next rent payment. If the landlord is also ignoring repairs, our Boston sanitary code repair guide explains how to get an inspection. If you're billed for water through a submeter, BWSC notes that the 2004 Water Sub-Metering Act applies to tenancies that began on or after December 16, 2004.
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Disputing a bill, step by step
Stage | Deadline |
|---|---|
Ask for an adjustment review by phone, mail, email or in person | Within 30 days of the billing date you're disputing |
Ask for an informal conference after the review result | Within 7 days of getting the result |
Appeal to a Special Examiner (a Massachusetts lawyer who isn't a BWSC employee) | Within 7 days of the conference result, on BWSC's form |
Appeal to the Executive Director | Within 14 days of the examiner's decision, plus a brief within 7 more days |
While you dispute a bill, you must keep paying the part you don't dispute. The disputed part isn't considered due while the dispute is pending, and BWSC can't shut off water over it. It can shut off water if you don't pay the undisputed part. If the dispute is decided in your favor, BWSC removes the late charges on the amount found not due. Customer Service is at 617-989-7800.
Before you dispute a high bill, check whether it was estimated. BWSC reads meters every day by radio. If the transmitter fails, you get an estimate based on past use, and the bill will say so. Call Customer Service if you get an estimated bill. Also check for leaks: put a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank and see whether color shows up in the bowl without flushing.
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Why Boston bills run high
BWSC's 2026 rates (January 1 to December 31, 2026) are based on daily use. Each tier is a number of cubic feet per day, so a longer billing period doesn't push you into a higher tier. Sewer costs more than water. BWSC says that's because sewer rates also cover payments to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), system maintenance and federally required environmental projects.
Daily use (cubic feet) | Water, per 1,000 cu. ft. | Sewer, per 1,000 cu. ft. |
|---|---|---|
First 19 | $70.19 | $66.68 |
Next 20 | $74.96 | $77.87 |
Next 50 | $81.75 | $96.24 |
Next 260 | $87.14 | $107.69 |
The two highest tiers, mostly for large buildings, go up to $95.48 for water and $126.03 for sewer for use over 1,299 cubic feet a day.
There's also a stormwater charge of $9.06 per ERU. One ERU is the impervious area of a typical single-family property, 2,164 square feet. BWSC's own example is 2,070 cubic feet (about 15,500 gallons) over 30 days. By our math at 2026 rates, that comes to about $159 for water and $171 for sewer. A dripping toilet adds to both.
Help for repairs and pipes
Leak Up To Owner (LUTO): if BWSC finds a leak on your side of the service pipe, you may have up to 15 days to fix it. Otherwise BWSC can turn off the water. BWSC's LUTO program will repair the leak "at a reasonable cost" and let you pay in 24 installments.
Lead service lines: BWSC's Lead Replacement Incentive Program replaces private lead water lines at no cost to the owner. BWSC decides which properties are eligible. Call the Lead Hotline at 617-989-7888.
Sewer laterals: BWSC has a Sewer Lateral Financial Assistance Program for owners repairing or replacing their sewer line. Ask Customer Service for details.
Before you call
☐ Your BWSC account number and the billing date on the bill
☐ The Final Notice and Demand, if you got one, and the date on it
☐ Proof of age or disability, if you're asking for the discount
☐ A doctor's contact information, if illness is involved
☐ Proof of residence, if you're a tenant paying to stop a shutoff
☐ A realistic monthly amount for a payment plan
☐ Notes on any part of the bill you dispute, and why
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
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More help in Boston
Related guides
Official sources
Last checked: October 23, 2026. Shutoff, hardship, tenant and appeal rules come from BWSC's Billing, Termination and Appeal Regulations (January 1, 2024) and its residential billing page. Rates are BWSC's 2026 rates, in effect through December 31, 2026.
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