I Received A Letter That Water Is Getting Cut Off In Two Days. Turns Out Landlord Hasn't Paid For Water Or Billed Me For It For Over A Year. They Want Me To Pay $3k Out Of Pocket Today.

Location: Buffalo, New York, USA.

I rent a 1 bedroom apartment on a lot with three leased properties in total. I moved in March of 2025. I haven't thought about the water bill once since moving in; I set up autopay for my utilities in the first month and thought I set up the water bill at the time as well. My lease does say that the tenant is responsible for water

Today I received a letter from Buffalo Water. It's addressed to "[My Address] LLC". I opened it because I didn't notice the "LLC" at the end, and saw that it said "TERMINATION NOTICE" on it. It states that my last water bill is now late, and that I may lose my water service by the 9th if I do not pay nearly $3000.

I called my landlord's property management company and the representative told me she'd reach out to accounting and email me back. She's emailed me that they are not sure why I never received a water bill since move-in, that ownership is not able to front the outstanding balance, and that the usage reflected on the account is tied directly to my unit, as my unit has its own meter. She also stated that they had a similar situation at another property a few months ago, and the tenant was able to directly work with the utility company to set up payment arrangements and avoid service interruption. She recommended that I contact the utility company ASAP to arrange a payment plan and avoid disconnection, and told me that this was my only option to keep services on.

Unfortunately, she emailed me at 5:09 PM, so the customer service lines at the water company have closed for the day. I can pay the bill, but I do not think I can pull an itemized bill without speaking to customer service. I do not believe I can make an account online with the company, as the bill is legally in [My Address] LLC's name, not mine. I attempted to get online access with the account number and zip code and the utility site wouldn't let me in anyway.

The bill seems extremely high for one guy. My family thinks it might be a year's worth plus late fees. I'm worried it has late fees or something else is wrong.

My questions are:

1. What's the fault of myself and my landlord in this situation? I know I messed up by not double checking that I had autopay on my water, but at the same time, my landlord failed to bill me for the water, and seems to have failed to pay the water bill at least since the last billing period, if ever. I have not received a paper bill until this termination notice today. My neighbor has advised me that in NY state, the landlord is ultimately responsible for all water bills, and that they shouldn't have been able to include water in my lease in the first place.

2. What are the chances that ~$3000 cost is accurate? A quick look at Google and some questions with my friends makes it sound extremely high. I have checked the meter and it does not indicate any leaks - the meter's not going up. In addition, my neighbor believes that there's only one water bill for the whole property; in the three units, you have me, a married couple in their 60's, and a family of 6.

3. Besides "call customer service and get an itemized bill tomorrow", what should I do? Should I pay the bill as soon as I get an itemized bill? Should I pay it without the itemized bill? Do I have a case to make in small claims against my landlord for some or all of the bill? Are there any specialized government or legal resources I can use for this?

Thank you for your help. I will answer questions to the best of my ability.