What Is Landlord Retaliation? How To Deal With It At Your Portland Rental Property
Have you been the victim of landlord retaliation at your Portland Oregon Rental Property? If so, you’re not alone.
Landlord retaliation typically happens when a landlord takes action against their tenant for reporting their rental property because the landlord failed to fix issues which made the property unsafe or not habitable.
Some of the most common things that landlords can do to retaliate against a tenant include increasing the rent or decreasing the services at the property.
If you’ve recently become the victim of landlord retaliation, here are several things that you can do to protect your best interests.
Landlord Retaliation – What To Do Next
If you’re the object of your landlord’s nasty retaliatory actions, two responses are possible, depending on what the landlord has done:
- If the retaliation consists of a termination and eviction, you may want to stay and fight, defending yourself against eviction by proving to the judge that the real reason for the termination was illegal.
- If the retaliation is a rent hike, a reduction in services, or any other negative treatment, you may want to take the offensive by filing suit in small claims court. In your suit, you’d ask the judge to prohibit the rent hike, order the services reinstated (or a rent reduction to compensate you for the loss), or take other appropriate measures.
Sometimes you’ll have a choice. For example, if the retaliation consists of a rent increase, you could refuse to pay and force the landlord to terminate and evict, banking on your antiretaliation statute as your defense. Or, you could immediately file suit in small claims court as soon as you get notice of the increase, hoping to resolve the issue before the increase kicks in. We strongly advise choosing the latter course whenever possible—if you lose, you can leave on your own terms, when and if you want to, without an eviction lawsuit going onto your credit report. On the other hand, if you force an eviction lawsuit your credit report will include this fact. Even if you win, this is not good news for any prospective landlord or employer.
By far the most common kind of retaliation, however, is of the petty sort. Before filing papers in small claims court, ask yourself if the issue is really worth your time and money to fight. And, unfortunately, many intensely annoying ploys are just not that big a deal to a judge, either.
Contact Rent Portland Homes – Professionals
At Rent Portland Homes – Professionals, we specialize in local property management for the Portland Oregon area.
If you own rental properties in Portland, and you need property management help, contact us today by calling (503) 447-7735 or click here to connect with us online.
