rental-property oregon
Landlord responsible for extended power outage beyond their control
<p>I rent an apartment in Oregon and have been out of power for nearly a week following a pretty nasty ice storm that hit the area. Our local power company has so far been unable to restore power due to the widespread nature of the damage (our block is apparently low-priority!)</p>
<p>The unit is heated electrically, so without power I have no heat and I'm unable to live in my apartment. I'm couch surfing with friends and family until power is restored. Since a landlord is required to provide heat and electrical power to the dwelling, is this something I should expect to see a reduced rent for?</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/oregon-landlord-and-tenant-duties.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Oregon Tenant and Landlord Duties</a> document I found from NCSL states</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>ORS 90.320</em> A landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the dwelling unit in a habitable condition. For purposes of this section, a dwelling unit shall be considered unhabitable if it substantially lacks:</p>
<p>...</p>
<p><em>(d)</em> Adequate heating facilities that conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in good working order;</p>
<p><em>(e)</em> Electrical lighting with wiring and electrical equipment that conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in good working order;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You could first look for a <em>force majeure</em> clause in the lease which says something about natural disasters and the like. If there is a clause which says e.g. "Landlord will not be held responsible for problems arising from ice storms", that doesn't help you, but maybe it specifies e.g. rent reduction of $2/day for lack of electricity. That doesn't mean he can ignore the law. However, in this situation, a particular reading of the law ("there must be an infallible supply of electricity") imposes an impossible requirement on the landlord, and the courts probably won't require a landlord to do the impossible.</p>

<p>It is not clear that your situation violates either the letter or the spirit of the law. Take clause (d): your "heating facilities" presumably conformed to applicable law at the time of installation and have since been maintained, and they are adequate, but they don't work if the grid doesn't supply power (and that is not a matter under the landlord's control). In other words, he provided the "infrastructure", and the problem is on the power company's end. Likewise "electrical lighting with wiring and electrical equipment" -- an ordinary interpretation of that clause is "wires and fixtures", and doesn't include "flow of electrons", which is supplied by your local power company.</p>
