Eviction News – Learn More About Evictions In Oregon

jeremy raglin Portland Rental News and Tips August 3, 2021 | 0

Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, eviction has been one thing that’s been on the minds of both landlords and tenants in Oregon, and across the United States, as evictions have been pushed back for months.

Now that the CDC Eviction moratorium has finally come to an end, there’s a lot of questions about what comes next for Oregon tenants as landlords can now move forward with evictions,

In this article we will provide you with the latest information on evictions and insight into what the rental market in Oregon can expect in the coming weeks.

About Oregon’s Statewide Eviction Moratorium

The State of Oregon has been working hard to keep tenants off the streets since COVID-19 began to hit the United States in March, 2020.

From the moment that most people became familiar with terms like Coronavirus, Pandemic and COVID-19, a statewide moratorium on evictions and termination notices was issued during April 2020, and extended multiple times, but that eviction moratorium expired on June 30^th, 2021.

During the statewide eviction moratorium, rental assistance has been available from the Federal Government and Multnomah County.

Thankfully, that rental assistance is still available and tenants who are facing eviction now can apply for rental assistance from Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance (OERAP), a program that helps tenants with the emergency rental assistance that they need to avoid eviction and utility shut off.

Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Eviction Moratorium

During the same time that the statewide eviction moratorium has been active, Oregon tenants have also benefitted from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eviction moratorium but that eviction and that helped to keep thousands of tenants from being evicted, especially during the height of COVID-19.

Like the statewide eviction moratorium, the CDC Eviction Moratorium also recently ended on 7-31-21 and that now means for the first time in over 12 months, landlords in Oregon now can move forward with evicting tenants who have been unable to pay rent.

8/27 UPDATE – The Supreme Court has overturned the CDC Eviction moratorium, allowing evictions to continue nationwide.

8/5 UPDATE – The CDC extended their eviction moratorium on 8/3/21 but this extension only applies to areas of the United States that have been hardest hit by Covid-19. This recent extension of the eviction moratorium is supposed to last to October 3rd, 2021 but landlords groups are currently trying to block this extension in Federal Court.

We will keep you posted on this issue because the extension of the CDC eviction moratorium could be overturned as early as next week!

Can tenants in Oregon be evicted now? The answer to this question is yes, and no because the State of Oregon passed Senate Bill 278, a safe harbor amendment that enables struggling tenants to pause their eviction if they apply for rental assistance with Oregon’s Housing and Community Services.

Unless tenants apply for rental assistance using the ‘safe harbor’ that Senate Bill 278 offers them, landlords in Oregon can move forward with some evictions.

How Long Do Tenants Have To Repay Past Due Rent?

One of the biggest questions on the minds of both landlords and tenants in the State of Oregon is how long do tenants have to repay back rent?

As the rental market in Oregon slowly returns to normal, tenants who haven’t paid rent during the pandemic have until February 2022 to repay the back rent that they owe.

It’s also important to note that Senate Bill 282 protects renters in Oregon from the credit damaging effects of not making their rental payments during the Pandemic. This is encouraging news because it means that tenants who struggled during COVID-19 won’t be penalized for what happened to them during the difficult times of the Pandemic era.

Will The CDC Eviction Moratorium Be Extended?

Now that the CDC Eviction Moratorium has been expired for days, it’s understandable that many tenants want to know if it’s going to be extended again?

Right now, it’s unlikely that the CDC Eviction Moratorium will be extended again because the White House has said that it cannot be extended although President Biden has shown a willingness to listen to all alternatives to help tenants avoid eviction.

Even though Washington is eager to avoid an eviction crisis, it’s likely that the country is heading in that direction, especially since the Government knows that landlords cannot continue to provide ‘free housing’ to tenants without the landlord facing foreclosure.

Landlords in Oregon who are eager to evict their tenants for no payment of rent must remember to follow the eviction laws in our state which include the following:

72 Hours’ Notice to Pay Rent: On the eighth day after rent is due and owing, the landlord can give the tenant 72 hours’ written notice to pay rent. This notice must inform the tenant that the landlord will terminate the tenancy unless the tenant pays rent within the 72-hour period. (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.394(2)(a).) The notice must specify the amount of rent that must be paid and the date and time by which the tenant must pay the rent. (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.394(3).) If the tenant does not pay rent, then the landlord can go to court and file an eviction lawsuit against the tenant.

144 Hours’ Notice to Pay Rent: On the fifth day after rent is due and owing, the landlord can instead give the tenant 144 hours’ written notice to pay rent. This notice must inform the tenant that the landlord will terminate the tenancy unless the tenant pays rent within 144 hours of receiving the notice. (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.394(2)(b).) The notice must specify the amount of rent that must be paid and the date and time by which the tenant must pay the rent. (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.394(3).) If the tenant doesn’t pay, then the landlord can go to court and file an eviction lawsuit against the tenant.

Notice to Cure for Lease Violations: If the tenant violates the lease or rental agreement, then the landlord can give the tenant a 30-day notice to cure. This notice must: specify the violations, state that the tenancy will terminate in no less than 30 days, and, if the violation can be cured, describe at least one possible remedy to cure the violation and designate the date by which the tenant must cure. (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.392(3).) The designated date for the cure must be at least 14 days after delivery of the notice. If the tenant doesn’t cure, then the rental agreement will terminate as provided in the notice. (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.392(4).) If the violation is one that’s substantially the same as a previous violation the landlord has sent a notice to the tenant about within the previous six months, the tenant does not have the right to cure. The landlord may give 10 days’ written notice (but the second notice can’t give a termination date that’s earlier than the one stated in the first notice). (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.392(5).) If the tenancy is week-to-week, different notification periods apply. (See Ore. Rev. Stat. § 90.392(6).) If the tenant does not fix the violation (or doesn’t have the right to cure because it’s a second violation) then the landlord can go to court and file an eviction lawsuit against the tenant.

Unconditional Quit Notice: In certain situations, the landlord can give the tenant a 24-hour unconditional quit notice. Using this notice, the landlord will inform the tenant that because of the tenant’s behavior, the landlord will be terminating the tenancy in 24 hours and filing an eviction lawsuit against the tenant. The tenant will have no opportunity to correct the bad behavior. Oregon’s Revised Statutes section 90.396 lists specific behaviors and situations under which a landlord can serve an unconditional quit notice.

Source – Nolo.com