Mobile home utilities in Oregon

Oregon's manufactured dwelling park law treats utilities carefully: the park passes through the provider's charge instead of profiting on it, stays responsible for the system, and can't turn a utility dispute into a rent eviction. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone disputing a specific charge or outage should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Oregon.

What the statute says

Utility and service charges run through ORS 90.560 to 90.584. Under ORS 90.568, a park using pro rata billing may require the tenant to pay "a utility or service charge that was billed by a utility or service provider to the landlord" for service to the tenant's space — a pass-through, not a marked-up rate — and "may not assess a utility or service charge for water" unless the water comes from a listed public, municipal, district, or cooperative source. The only permitted markup is in ORS 90.564: for "cable television, direct satellite or other video subscription services or for Internet access," a landlord may add "not more than 10 percent of the utility or service charge."

The park stays responsible for the system: ORS 90.568(5) provides that "the landlord is responsible for maintaining the utility or service system, including any submeter," and ORS 90.730 makes the landlord keep the space's sewage, water, electrical, and gas connections "in good working order to the extent that the [system] can be controlled by the landlord."

A utility charge is also kept separate from rent. ORS 90.568(4): "A utility or service charge is not rent or a fee. Nonpayment of a utility or service charge is not grounds for termination ... for nonpayment of rent under ORS 90.394," though it can support a for-cause termination under ORS 90.630 after at least an 8-day notice.

How it works in general

If an Oregon park bills residents for utilities, it generally can't profit on them — it passes through the provider's charge, billed pro rata or by submeter, and can't bill for water unless it buys the water from a recognized public or municipal source. The narrow exception is a 10% add-on for cable, satellite, or internet. The park has to maintain the utility system and any submeter and restore a resident's space after working on it, and the lot's water, sewer, electrical, and gas connections are part of the park's habitability duty. Because a utility charge isn't rent, a missed utility bill can't be turned into a nonpayment-of-rent eviction — the park has to use the slower for-cause process with its own notice.

Common scenarios

General examples Oregon park residents commonly encounter:

• A park bills more than the provider charged. Utility charges are a pass-through; only a 10% cable/internet add-on is allowed (ORS 90.568, 90.564).
• A submeter or utility line breaks. The landlord must maintain the system and any submeter (ORS 90.568(5); ORS 90.730).
• A resident falls behind on a utility charge. It isn't rent, so it can't trigger a nonpayment-of-rent eviction (ORS 90.568(4)).

Other authorities that may apply

ORS 90.560 to 90.584 govern utility and service billing; ORS 90.730 sets the maintenance duty. The Oregon Public Utility Commission regulates jurisdictional utility service and rates, and a park that serves only its own tenants under these rules "is not a public utility" (ORS 90.568(7)). The written rental agreement and statement of policy set the billing terms within these limits.