Water Bureau to landlords: Pay up or else

Owners of multifamily housing that are delinquent on payments face shut-offs

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Mar 5, 2010, Updated Mar 5, 2010 (13 Reader comments)

The Portland Water Bureau will soon begin shutting off the water to multifamily housing buildings that have not been paying their water bills.

The bureau has identified about 600 landlords — including a condominium association — who have between $100 and $10,000 in unpaid water bills. In the past, the bureau has been reluctant to shut off water to the buildings because tenants might not have any idea that their water bills are going unpaid.

But the bureau has decided to treat multifamily landlords the same as everyone else.

“We have enabled bad behavior and we are not going to enable it anymore,” says bureau Director David Shaff, adding that Water Commissioner Randy Leonard has approved the change.

According to Shaff, the bureau is going to start its enforcement actions with five landlords in different parts of the city. The buildings range from a duplex to a 50-unit apartment building, Shaff says.

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