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RELEVANT LINKS: League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 6/22/2016 Securing Payment of Utility Charges Page 29 • A statement explaining available time payment plans and other opportunities to secure continued utility service. If a residential customer must be involuntarily disconnected between Oct. 15 and April 15 for failure to comply with the provisions of the cold weather rule, the disconnection must not occur at any of the following times: • On a Friday, unless the customer declines to enter into a payment agreement offered that day in person or via personal contact by telephone by the utility. • On a weekend, holiday, or the day before a holiday. • When utility offices are closed. • After the close of business on a day when disconnection is permitted, unless a field representative of the utility with authority to enter into a payment agreement, accept payment, and continue service, offers a payment agreement to the customer. If a customer does not respond to a disconnection notice, the customer must not be disconnected until the utility investigates whether the residential unit is actually occupied. If the unit is occupied, the utility must immediately inform the occupant of the provisions of this section. If the unit is unoccupied, the utility must give seven days written notice of the proposed disconnection to the local energy assistance provider before making a disconnection. Minn. Stat. § 216B.096, subd. 9. If a customer appeals, a notice of disconnection (before the service is disconnected) the utility must not disconnect until the appeal is resolved. Best practice suggests that municipal utilities establish a process for dealing with complaints about utility heating service (or any utility service subject to the cold weather rule) during the cold weather months. I. Shutting off utilities in landlord-tenant situations Minn. Stat. ch. 504B. Minn. Stat. § 444.075. Landlord-tenant law and municipal utility law both apply to situations where either a tenant or a landlord fails to pay for a utility service. Parsing out when a city may disconnect a utility service in landlord-tenant situations requires careful analysis and consultation with the city attorney. Minn. Stat. § 504B.225. Minn. Stat. § 504B.221. It is a misdemeanor for a landlord to shut off a tenant’s utilities in an effort to force a tenant out. If a landlord or the landlord’s agent interrupts a tenant’s utility service (electricity, heat, gas, or water) the tenant may recover from the landlord treble damages or $500, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney’s fees.