Both landlords and tenants should be able to deal with many legal questions and problems without a lawyer, once they understand the basics of state law. This overview of key landlord-tenant laws in Oregon will get you started.
Under Oregon law, landlords must disclose specific information to tenants (usually in the lease or rental agreement), such as the smoking policy for the property and the identity of anyone authorized to act on the landlord’s behalf. For a full list, see Oregon Required Landlord Disclosures.
Oregon state law does not limit how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit, though it does prohibit landlords from increasing or imposing a deposit within the first year of tenancy unless the landlord and tenant agree to modify the rental agreement to allow for a pet or other cause. However, state law does limit when it must be returned (within 31 days after a tenant moves), and sets other restrictions on deposits. See Oregon Security Deposit Limits and Deadlines for more on the subject.
Tenants can sue landlords in small claims court for the return of their deposit, up to a dollar amount of $10,000. See Filing a Security Deposit Lawsuit in Oregon Small Claims Court for advice for tenants filing suit. Landlords defending a security deposit lawsuit should check out Oregon Landlord’s Guide to Security Deposit Disputes in Small Claims Court.
State law regulates several rent-related issues, including late fees and how much time (at least three days in Oregon) a tenant has to pay overdue rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction. For details, see Oregon Late Fees, Termination for Nonpayment of Rent, and Other Rent Rules.
Tenants may withhold rent or exercise the right to “repair and deduct” if a landlord fails to take care of important repairs, such as a broken heater. For specifics, see Oregon Tenant Rights to Withhold Rent or “Repair and Deduct”.
State laws specify when and how a landlord may terminate a tenancy. For example, a landlord may give an Oregon tenant who has intentionally caused substantial property damage an unconditional quit notice that gives the tenant 24 hours to move out before the landlord can file for eviction. See State Laws on Unconditional Quit Terminations and State Laws on Termination for Violation of Lease for details on these types of termination notices in Oregon.
Several other landlord-tenant laws in Oregon affect both property owners and renters, including:
If you want to read the text of a law itself, such as state security deposit rules, you’ll find citations in many of the articles and charts included in the State Landlord-Tenant Laws section of the Nolo site. To access the statutes, go to the Oregon Laws and Legal Information section of the Nolo site and find the link to your state laws.
If you just want to browse through the Oregon landlord-tenant law, you can find state statutes at Or. Rev. Stat. § § 90.100 to 91.225. You can search the table of contents for the landlord-tenant statutes. Or, if you don’t know the exact statute number, you can enter a keyword that is likely to be in it, such as “nonpayment of rent.”
In addition to accessing state laws via Nolo’s website, Oregon statutes are available in many public libraries and in most law libraries that are open to the public (typically found in a county courthouse or at the state capitol or in a publicly-funded law school).
Cities and counties often pass local ordinances, such as health and safety standards, noise and nuisance regulations, and antidiscrimination rules that affect landlords and tenants. Many municipalities have websites —just search for the name of a particular city in Oregon and then do a search when you’re on the site. For example, if you search for the noise ordinance in the City of Portland website, you’ll easily find Portland’s Public Nuisance Noise Ordinance.
State and Local Government on the Net and Municode are good sources for finding local governments online. Also, your local public library or office of the city attorney, mayor, or city or county manager can provide information on local ordinances that affect landlords and tenants in Oregon.
While most landlords and tenants will primarily be concerned with state law in Oregon, several federal laws come into play. Congress has enacted laws, and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have adopted regulations, covering discrimination and landlord responsibilities to disclose environmental health hazards, such as lead-based paint.
The U.S. Code is the starting place for most federal statutory research. It consists of 50 separate numbered titles, each covering a specific subject matter. Most federal regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”), also organized by subject into 50 separate titles.
To access the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations online, see Nolo’s Federal Law Resources page. Also, the Cornell Legal Information Institute provides the entire U.S. Code as well as the Code of Federal Regulations. Finally, check USA.gov, the official U.S. website for government information.
Nolo’s Laws and Legal Research page includes links to state and federal laws, explains how to research and understand statutes, and provides advice on finding local ordinances and court cases, including Supreme Court cases. To go further, check out Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, by Stephen Elias and the Editors of Nolo (Nolo). This nontechnical book gives easy-to-use, step-by-step instructions on how to find legal information.
You’ll also find a wealth of information in the Landlords and Renters’ Rights sections of the Nolo website and Nolo books, such as Every Landlord’s Legal Guide and Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.
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