Utilities 101: Manufactured and Mobile Housing
Posted on January 30, 2024 by Abbey Parnall
Tags, Oregon Utilities 101, Energy, General Interest
In the vast world of housing, manufactured and mobile homes are often an affordable and attractive option for homeowners. However, when it comes to utility services—electricity, water, gas, and more—things can get a little complicated. Let’s shed some light on the utilities of manufactured and mobile homes, navigating through the specifics to help residents make informed decisions.
Manufactured vs Mobile Homes
Manufactured and mobile homes both offer single-family home options that are built in factories. While both types of homes offer unique living experiences, the differences in their construction can impact your billing and overall costs.
Manufactured Homes
Manufactured homes are entirely built in a factory and then transported to their final location. They adhere to federal building codes, which ensures safety and construction standards. These homes are often placed on a permanent foundation, where they will remain indefinitely.
Utilities in manufactured homes are typically connected directly to municipal or for-profitutility companies. Residents usually deal directly with these providers for billing. This means that utilities for manufactured homes are similar to houses in other neighborhoods.
Mobile Homes
Mobile homes are also factory-built but are often not anchored to permanent foundations. Mobile homes are also often purchased by the homeowner but placed on land owned by someone else. This is why mobile homeowners often pay land leasing fees at mobile home parks.
Utilities for mobile homes, especially those in parks or communities, might operate differently. Often, the park owner contracts with utility companies and then provides the services to residents. This can lead to two scenarios: 1) Individual metering, where you’re billed for your specific usage, or 2) community metering, where usage is divided among park residents.
How Utilities Work in Manufactured and Mobile Homes
Navigating utility services in manufactured and mobile homes can be complicated. Understanding the setup is the first step to managing your utilities efficiently. Typically, these homes are serviced by the essential utilities: electricity, water, gas, and sewage.
Paying Bills to Utility Providers
In manufactured homes, you’re likely to have individual meters through your utility providers. Meters track only your home’s usage. This makes your billing straightforward – you pay for what you use directly to your utility. This setup is the same as that of builder-constructed houses, promoting transparency and individual control over utility costs.
Some mobile homes may also have individual metering, depending on how the park is set up. Before you move in, make sure you understand if you are responsible for contacting utility providers to set up accounts. This will be outlined in the lease, even if you own the home itself.
Paying Bills to Park Owner or Landlord
Whether you own your home and are leasing the land or you are renting a home, the role of the park owner is important. If your home does not have an individual meter, you will be paying for utilities through the park or landlord. In this case, they’re responsible for ensuring accurate billing and fair distribution of costs.
When utilities are split between multiple units, Oregon law requires a clear explanation for how the communal bill is divided. This information should be in your lease or provided in writing before you move in. A landlord cannot change this billing method without also changing your rental agreement, even if you are leasing just the land.
Separately Billed Utilities Through the Landlord
In this case, the park owner is the one paying the utility provider for multiple units. That larger bill is then split up between residents and paid to the landlord directly. If each unit has a submeter that tracks the usage per unit, the home will only pay for its own usage.
When there is only one meter for the whole park, the landlord must divide the overall bill between homes fairly. In many cases, this division will happen equally between units. For example, if there are 10 homes in a park, each home will pay 1/10th of the overall bill.
Sometimes, the group bill will be divided differently based on clearly communicated rules. This could be based on the size of the home (single-wide pays for a smaller amount, double-wides pay for a larger amount), based on number of people per home, or another way. In some cases, how the bill is divided may be decided by a majority vote of all residents, though this must be outlined in the lease agreement.
In all of these cases, utility charges are not the same as rent. This means that failing to pay for utilities is not grounds for eviction for non-payment. While not paying utility charges can still lead to issues, including eviction, it does require a different process.
Rent Included Utilities
In many cases, a landlord may choose to include utilities in the rent to avoid deciding how to split the overall bill. In this case, residents may not know exactly what portion of rent is going to utilities or elsewhere. This is a common method that helps simplify the billing process for everyone involved.
Protections for Residents
It’s important for residents to understand their billing structure and to communicate with park management for clarity and dispute resolution. You can also ask the park owner to show you the total bill from the utility and explain how they arrived at your bill. Regardless of if you own your home or are renting, landlords cannot make a profit off of your utilities.
Read More: How Can Renters Be Charged for Utilities?
Managing Utility Costs
Regardless of your home type, keeping utility costs under control is a challenge that everyone faces. Here are some practical tips to help you manage:
- Energy Efficiency: Simple actions like using energy-efficient bulbs, weatherizing your home, and unplugging appliances when not in use can significantly reduce electricity bills. Read more: Energy Savings Tips for Summer
- Water Usage: Fixing leaks promptly, installing low-flow fixtures, and being mindful of your water usage can lead to substantial savings.
Bill Assistance
If you need assistance with paying your utility bills or enrolling in a bill discount program, 211info is a great resource.
While many agencies may be able to assist with paying your utility bills, lowering the overall monthly utility bill may prove to be more sustainable in the long run as bill payment assistance programs often are limited to only helping once in a certain period of time. Check out these bill discount and assistance programs and see what might be right for you:
Oregon Energy Fund: Provides funding to non-profit agencies for energy assistance for low-income households.
Water Bill Discount Program: Local agencies are available to help you enroll in the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program to lower your monthly water bill based on income eligibility criteria. Your water provider will also have information on how to enroll in this program.
Energy Bill Discount Program: Contact your energy service provider(s) to enroll in an electric or gas bill discount program if you meet the eligibility criteria. This is available for electric customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power. It is also available for gas customers of NW Natural, Avista, and Cascade.
Energy Bill Payment Assistance: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federally funded heating assistance program for all home heating costs including electric, natural gas, firewood, propane, pellets, and oil.
Manufactured and mobile housing offers affordability and flexibility. With these tips, you can lower your utility bills and make navigating the world of utilities more manageable!
Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues
CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.
To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
01/30/24 | 6 Comments | Utilities 101: Manufactured and Mobile Housing