“What’s the RUB?” Utility Billing and Renters’ Rights
Posted on May 4, 2021 by Thomas Jerin
Tags, Energy, Telecommunications, Water/Wastewater, General Interest
Recently, my friend came to me with a problem: She has been renting a duplex in east Portland for many years and has paid a flat fee to her landlord to cover her electricity bill. However, when she renewed her lease, the new agreement had her pay using a RUBS (Ratio Utility Based System), and suddenly her monthly utility costs were much higher! Fortunately, she knew to reach out to her friends at CUB for answers.
Many newer, larger multifamily buildings tend to provide individual meters for each unit, which allows each tenant to set up their own account with the utility company and gives them more control over their bills. However, smaller landlords and older buildings often don’t have individual metering, and in Oregon there is no law about how a landlord must divide up a utility bill.
Many landlords agree to a flat-fee arrangement with their tenants. Renters tend to like these arrangements because they can easily budget and plan for their monthly utility bills. In single-family rentals, landlords often simply charge the tenant/s for the exact cost of their utilities. Landlords like these arrangements because they aren’t stuck paying the difference between a flat fee and the actual bill. In multi-family buildings without individual meters, landlords increasingly use RUBS, where a formula is used to divide the utility bills across units, typically based on occupancy, square footage, or some combination of the two.
My friend and I wondered how her landlord had determined how much to charge her each month for her electricity. The first thing we did was look at the law: ORS 90.315 governs what a landlord may charge for utilities and the tenant’s rights. OR 90.315 defines “Utility or Services” as “includes but is not limited to electricity, natural or liquid propane gas, oil, water, hot water, heat, air conditioning, cable television, direct satellite or other video subscription services, Internet access or usage, sewer service, public services and garbage collection and disposal.” In my friend’s case regarding her electric bill, the law states that a landlord can’t profit from passing through electricity charges to their tenants. Additionally, landlords must provide the utility bills to their tenants, or must make the bills available upon request if they’re not provided automatically.
In my friend’s situation, her landlord sends her a written invoice for her rent, electricity, and parking each month. She called her landlord and requested a copy of the most recent electricity bill, and also requested that her landlord walk her through how her charges were determined. Her landlord told her that the bill was divided between the two units in her duplex, and that her neighbor was charged more as they had more people living in the unit. After reviewing the bill and the process for determining her charges, my friend was satisfied that she was being treated fairly.
But what do you do if you think your landlord isn’t being fair? Perhaps your flat fee is simply too high to be reasonable, or you think you might be over-charged for common areas, like hallways and elevators. Or maybe your landlord has refused to provide you with copies of their utility bills. If landlords do not comply with the law, ORS 90.315 states that tenants can recover either a month’s periodic rent or twice the amount wrongfully charged, whichever is greater.
While we at CUB are always happy to discuss your utility bill and provide resources, your individual case may best be handled by an attorney. We recommend reaching out to the Oregon State Bar’s attorney referral service, which can put you in touch with an attorney that practices landlord/tenant law in your area. If you can’t afford an attorney, we also recommend reaching out to the Community Alliance of Tenants or the Legal Aid Services of Oregon.
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08/18/21 | 18 Comments | “What’s the RUB?” Utility Billing and Renters’ Rights