Benton County Road or Easement Maintenance Agreement (Two Holders) Form

Two Oregon neighbors who share a private road or access easement face the same question the day a culvert washes out: who pays, and how much. ORS 105.175 answers it by default in proportion to use, but it also lets the holders write their own answer in advance. This form is that written answer, a road or easement maintenance agreement for two holders of an interest in a single private road or easement, recordable under ORS 105.170 to 105.185.

The statutory default, and why an agreement displaces it

Oregon requires the holders of an interest in any easement to keep it in repair and to share the cost. Where the holders have no agreement and the recorded instrument creating the easement says nothing about maintenance, ORS 105.175(3) divides the cost in proportion to each holder's use, weighing the frequency of use and the size and weight of the vehicles involved. An agreement under ORS 105.175(2) instead lets the holders fix shares and a maintenance standard ahead of time, and those agreed terms apply in place of the proportionate-use default.

What the agreement records

The form gathers the two holders and their parcels, a legal description of the road or easement and the recorded instrument that created it, the scope and standard of maintenance, the division of cost, a method for deciding on work and collecting contributions, and the ORS 105.175(4) rule that a holder who causes damage by negligence or abnormal use repairs it alone. The operative section then states the holders' agreement to keep the road in repair and share the cost as a covenant that runs with their benefited parcels and binds their successors who hold an interest in the easement.

Enforcement and the prevailing-party rule

ORS 105.180 gives the agreement teeth. A holder who does not perform can be sued by another holder for money damages, specific performance, or contribution, and a court may order equitable relief. Any holder may also apply for an impartial arbitrator to apportion the cost, an application that can be made before, during, or after the work. In either path, the prevailing party recovers all court costs, arbitration fees, and attorney fees. The agreement repeats these consequences in capital letters above the signatures.

Recording in Oregon

ORS 105.175(2) directs that the agreement, or a memorandum of it, be recorded in the real property records of the county where the easement is located. Recording is not what makes the agreement binding between the parties and anyone with actual notice; it is what carries the arrangement forward to later buyers of either parcel. Because a maintenance agreement does not convey fee title, the land-use, consideration, and tax-statement notices Oregon attaches to deeds are not prerequisites here, a point the guide explains alongside the page-format rules of ORS 205.232.

What is included

• The blank agreement as a fillable PDF, completed on screen or printed and completed by hand
• A plain-language guide that walks through every numbered section, with the source of each entry and an example that matches the completed sample
• A completed example showing the entire agreement filled in for a realistic Oregon fact pattern in Washington County

The document is formatted for Oregon recording: letter or legal size pages within the ORS 205.232 dimensions, 10 point body text, and space at the top of the first page for the county clerk's recording label. These materials are informational and are not legal advice; an Oregon attorney can address a specific easement or dispute.