Background
SAUR operated the public drinking-water distribution and collective sanitation services for the Pays de l’Or urban community. In February 2019, it informed the Nouvelle Vague condominium association that future bills would include a fixed “subscription” charge for each consumption point. Under the local service regulations, every apartment in a collective building constituted a consumption point; the residence contained 190 apartments.
The condominium association challenged both the fixed charges and the billing method and sued to annul the invoices. SAUR counterclaimed for €130,975.61 in unpaid charges, with statutory interest and annual capitalization, plus €5,000 in damages. The Montpellier Court of Appeal rejected SAUR’s claims because it had not shown what comprised the fixed amount charged for each apartment or supplied the elements used to calculate it.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Cassation adopted a new rule, departing from its earlier case law. It held that water-service operators need include on invoices only the information required by the ministerial order of July 10, 1996 and the applicable local service regulations. An operator need not provide subscribers or users with evidence substantiating the amounts listed under the fixed-charge headings.
A subscriber or user therefore must pay the invoiced price, including the fixed portion, unless it proves fault by the operator. Such fault may include noncompliance with the ministerial order or local service regulations and may justify withholding or reducing the part of the price affected by that breach. Because the condominium association was a subscriber and the applicable rules permitted a fixed charge for each apartment served, the Court of Appeal erred by demanding additional substantiation not required by law and by denying SAUR the entire service price.
The Court partially quashed the appellate judgment as to SAUR’s payment and damages claims, costs, and procedural-fee ruling. It did not itself award the invoiced sums or damages; it remanded those issues to the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal.
Key Takeaways
- Water and sanitation operators need not disclose supporting cost calculations for fixed-charge line items beyond the information required by national billing rules and applicable local service regulations.
- Subscribers and users generally must pay invoiced fixed and consumption-based charges unless they prove operator fault affecting the price.
- A proven breach of billing or service regulations may support a reduction of the portion of the price affected by that breach.
Why It Matters
The decision expressly changes the Court of Cassation’s prior approach, which required an operator to substantiate the nature and amount of contested fixed costs. It harmonizes the payment rules for fixed and consumption-based water charges and shifts the practical burden to the subscriber or user to establish operator fault.
For collective residential properties, the ruling also confirms that local regulations may authorize a separate fixed charge for every apartment served, even where the condominium association is the subscriber.