Utility billing laws for landlords in Oregon

Rules reviewed September 2026

At a glance

Admin fee

Not allowed on allocated bills

Lease disclosure

Required. State the utilities billed and the allocation method before the tenant signs.

Billing above the utility's bill

Not permitted. Tenant shares must never total more than the master bill.

Common areas

Excluded. Hallways, laundry and irrigation stay the owner's cost.

What Oregon requires

• The allocation method must be in the lease or on the bill, and common-area charges must be described separately (ORS 90.315).
• No admin or service fee is allowed on allocated utilities. Bill tenants within 30 days of receiving the provider's bill.

How SplitDue handles this

• Because Oregon restricts admin fees on allocated bills, SplitDue shows that warning when you set one and records the rule alongside the utility.
• Tenant shares are calculated so they add up to the master bill exactly, never more, and rounding remainders are absorbed rather than collected twice.
• Vacant and owner-occupied units still take their share of every bill, but that share is assigned to you rather than pushed onto the remaining tenants.
• Each tenant bill states the method, the service dates, the inputs used, and the utility's total, which is the disclosure most states expect you to be able to produce.