The Region - News from Dec. 19, 1986

A policy that would end the Department of Water and Power practice of shutting off water or electric service to tenants as a tactic to force landlords to pay delinquent utility bills was formally adopted by the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners. The DWP, which had already suspended the practice last month after a public outcry over its effect on tenants, can resort to that measure only with board approval, Board President Rick Caruso said. He added that the DWP will pursue other strategies to collect unpaid bills including the filing of liens on the property of landlords who own multiple-family dwellings and who fail to pay their utility bills.