Oregon Landlord-Tenant Laws – What Are The Most important Things To know?
Are you searching for information on Oregon landlord-tenant laws? If so, you’ve come to the right place!
In this article, we will break down Oregon landlord-tenant laws and provide you with an overview of some of the most important things that you need to know.
Security Deposit And Return
Landlords in the state of Oregon typically require their tenants to pay the first and last month’s rent plus a security deposit. Once the tenant pays the security deposit, the landlord must provide the tenant with the receipt to show that they have received that deposit.
When a tenant moves out, the landlord is legally required to refund the security deposit to their former tenant within 31 days.
If the landlord chooses to utilize a portion of that security deposit for maintenance or repairs to the rental property the doctor former tenant lived in, they must provide the tenant with an itemized checklist which shows how the money was spent from their security deposit to cover repairs or damages that they may have caused to the rental property.
Tenant Fees
Some of the most common fees that tenants can expect pay include fees for paying the rent late, unpaid utility bills, bouncing checks, failure to clean up garbage or pet waste, violating parking and vehicle rules, causing damage to the property, and more.
Rent Rules
Over the last year, Oregon has become a rent-control state. This means that landlords in Oregon cannot raise the rent on their tenants more than 7% plus the Consumer Price Index for 12 months.
If a landlord is found to have illegally increased the rent, they may be obligated to pay their tenant an amount that you quote 3 months’ worth of rent plus any damages that their tenant may have suffered from the rent increases.
Evictions In Oregon
There are only three ways that a landlord can legally serve you with a termination notice:
- the landlord must hand-deliver the termination notice, or
- mail it to your address by first class mail, or
- put the notice on your door and mail you a copy (if your rental agreement allows this).
If the notice is handed to you, the notice period starts to run immediately. If it is only mailed to you, the landlord must add 3 days to the length of notice. If it is posted and mailed, the notice starts to run either when the landlord mails the notice or on the day the landlord posts and mails the notice. Any other way that the landlord gives you a notice of termination (such as email, orally, or by certified mail) is not legal and may give you a defense in any eviction action based on that notice.
All termination notices must be in writing. ORS 90.155, 90.160.
Source – oregonlawhelp,org
Contact – Rent Portland Homes Professionals
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