‘It kept adding up’: how add-on utility fees can lead to eviction for tenants

Tenants can be evicted for not paying utilities even if they have paid rent – tenants and their allies are fighting back

• This story was supported and co-published by the journalism non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

In 2024, Constance Soule got a surprise from her landlord: a “notice of termination” that gave her 10 days to move out of her apartment.

Soule, a disabled Alzheimer’s patient with a housing voucher, had paid her rent at a Larkspur, California complex managed by Greystar, the country’s largest apartment manager. But she was about to be evicted from her home across from the Golden Gate Bridge solely over utility charges, court documents show.