Look at your lease.

It, hopefully, should have a section about how any money tendered by the tenant is applied. Late fees, any outstanding utility bills, back rent, then current rent, NO MATTER WHAT ANY NOTATION ON THE PAYMENT MAY INDICATE.

Like that.

When the tenant tries these games, apply any payment in the order the lease says. Obviously, the water bill before the rent.

Then, after deducting the water bill, the rent is now short.

Then immediately issue the pay or quit notice and follow up and evict them for nonpayment of rent due.

This is why I keep the water in my name and include it as part of the rent.

YOU cannot request the cut off, as that is construed as "self-help" or constructive eviction.

Our lease states that, in a SFH, they have to pay gas, electric and water.... I give it a few days and then call the companies and if it is not in their name, I set it to have it disconnected the next day. I give the tenant a heads up, but also tell them that I will be billing them the bill from the utility company as well as a $50.00 charge for not changing it over when they should have.

We also have landlord agreements with the companies and if utilities in a tenants name is going to be disconnected for any reason, they call and let me know. They do ask if we want it into our name or disconnected... most of the time I tell them to disconnect and then let the tenants know.

Only time I wont disconnect is heat in the winter... I don't want to deal with frozen pipes and such.

In California a Landlord can NEVER turn of utility service on their tenants, period! This is why before you give a new tenant possession of a rental, you check to make sure they transferred the utility into their name.

And in some States if a tenant gets their own utility services turned off for NON PAYMENT, and they report it to Housing, the County Health Department will site a landlord $500 because it is not lawful to have people living without:

a) Water, hot and cold

b) Heat

c) Power

No way am I having the tenants utilities in my name and trusting them to pay. The tenants have to show proof at lease signing that they have had utilities put in there name. I also call the utilities company and verify it was transferred before I meet with tenants for lease signing.

I think your answer will be state dependent. In Indiana, I have excerpted the below text. It seems to state that you can only do this if the property as been "abandoned".

Sec. 6. (a) This section does not apply if the dwelling unit has been abandoned.

Terms Used In Indiana Code 32-31-5-6

dwelling unit: means a structure or part of a structure that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping unit. See Indiana Code 32-31-5-3

Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5

(b) For purposes of this section, a dwelling unit is considered abandoned if:

(1) the tenants have failed to:

(A) pay; or

(B) offer to pay;

rent due under the rental agreement; and

(2) the circumstances are such that a reasonable person would conclude that the tenants have surrendered possession of the dwelling unit.

An oral or written rental agreement may not define abandonment differently than is provided by this subsection.

(c) Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant’s access to or possession of the tenant’s dwelling unit by commission of any act, including the following:

(1) Changing the locks or adding a device to exclude the tenant from the dwelling unit.

(2) Removing the doors, windows, fixtures, or appliances from the dwelling unit.

(3) Interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of any of the following to a tenant:

(A) Electricity.

(B) Gas.

(C) Water.

(D) Other essential services.

However, the landlord may interrupt, shut off, or terminate service as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or necessary construction. This subdivision does not require a landlord to pay for services described in this subdivision if the landlord has not agreed, by an oral or written rental agreement, to do so.