OREGON LANDLORD TENANT ATTORNEYS
Taking Pride in Tough But Persuasive Advocacy For Our Clients
Nobody wants an eviction. Landlords don’t want to lose revenue or have to go through the process of finding and screening new tenants while their income-producing property sits vacant. Tenants don’t want the upheaval that comes with potentially losing their housing. That’s why we will work as hard as we can to solve your landlord tenant issue before it has to turn into a court case. We are highly skilled at communicating the applicable rules and regulations to landlords and tenants, as well as what may or may not happen if they follow the rules. We are often able to help opposing parties understand that it is in their interest as well as yours, to play fair and be reasonable. Of course, sometimes it is not possible to reach an amicable resolution to a landlord tenant conflict and it turns into a court case. That is when we use our courtroom experience and knowledge of the applicable laws to prove in court what you are entitled to under the law.
Should I hire a landlord/tenant attorney?
Yes! Given how many rules and regulations have an influence on the outcome of your landlord tenant matter, and given the high stakes involved, it absolutely pays to have an attorney working for you. We can advise you as to what is possible or impossible- what is likely or unlikely, and we can help guide you to the best possible resolution to your landlord tenant matter. Contact us today for a consultation!
Landlord/Tenant FAQs
When can a landlord raise the rent, and by how much?
It depends on a few things. First, it depends on whether or not there is a term lease in effect. A term lease is an agreement to allow a person or persons to occupy the landlord’s property for a fixed period of time with a definite end date. If there is a term lease in effect, then the landlord cannot change or raise the rent without the tenant’s agreement. Generally that means that a landlord can’t raise the rent while there is a term lease in effect, although the term lease itself can state the conditions under which the landlord can raise the rent.
Regardless of whether or not there is a term lease in effect (for example, if the tenant is on a “periodic lease”, usually referred to as a “month-to-month tenancy”, a landlord can’t raise the rent within the first year of the tenancy. After the first year, the landlord can raise the rent on 90 days’ written notice. A landlord also cannot raise the rent more than once in any 12-month period.
Every year, usually at the end of September, the State of Oregon announces the maximum rent increase for the following calendar year (so for example, if the maximum rent increase in year 1 is 8%, and on September 30 of year 1 the State announces that the new the maximum rent increase in year 2 is 10%, a landlord can’t do a 10% increase that goes into effect any sooner than January 1 of year 2).
Certain types of properties are exempt from some of these rules, there may be local city ordinances that modify some of these rules, and everyone’s situation is unique, so please feel free to contact us for a consultation if you have any questions!
What is a landlord’s obligation to provide habitable housing?
In general, at all times a landlord has to provide the tenant with:
- Effective waterproofing and weather protection. This means no leaky roofs, no holes in the exterior walls, and windows and doors that shut and keep the elements out.
- Working plumbing.
- Hot and cold running water.
- A working heating system.
- Working electricity.
- Buildings and grounds which are kept safe for normal foreseeable use, and are free from garbage, debris, and vermin.
- A reasonable means of disposing of garbage.
- Floors, ceilings, railways, and stairs in good repair.
- Working ventilation, air conditioning, and elevators, if those things come with the rental unit.
- Working smoke detectors and alarms.
- Working carbon monoxide detectors and alarms- most of the time.
- Working locks on all exterior doors and windows.
And note that there may be additional requirements depending on the age of the building and where the building is located.
How much notice does a landlord have to give in order to terminate a tenancy?
It depends heavily on the landlord’s reason (or “grounds”) for terminating the tenancy, whether or not the tenant is on a term lease or a periodic lease, and if on a periodic lease, how often the tenant pays rent.
Generally, for violations of the lease other than the duty to pay rent, or violation of other duties imposed on the tenant by statute, it is a 30-day notice. For nonpayment of rent, it is a 10-day or 13-day notice, depending on how late the rent is. For extreme or outrageous conduct, a tenancy can be terminated on 24-hours’ notice.
A landlord can also terminate without any violation from the tenant under certain circumstances, depending on whether the tenant has a term lease or is month-to-month, and how long the tenant has been in possession.
All of these are heavily fact-dependent, and in many instances a tenant may be able to take action which can negate the termination notice, such as correcting a lease violation or catching up on rent. Contact us for a consultation if you have any questions.
How can a landlord change the lease?
The general rule is that a landlord cannot change a lease while it is in effect unless the tenant agrees to it. Conceptually this is because leases are contracts between the landlord and the tenant, and generally you need both parties to a contract to agree to change it. This applies to both term and month-to-month leases. Additionally, no lease, whether original or modified, term or month-to-month, may include terms which run contrary to ORS Chapter 90 (the Oregon Residential Landlord Tenant Code). If you are considering proposing a lease change to your tenant or landlord, contact us today for a consultation to see if it is possible or advisable!
How can a landlord keep a tenant’s security deposit?
One of the most common situations encountered by a landlord is a tenant moving out and failing to return possession of the premises back to the landlord in the same condition in which it was leased to them (absent reasonable “wear and tear”). That is what security deposits are for. They are generally meant to reimburse a landlord for damage to their property generally discovered after a tenant moves out, and for repairs thereto (although there may be other situations in which a landlord can keep some or all of a security deposit).
If you have questions about what can, and cannot be deducted from a security deposit, and what steps a landlord has to take in order to keep some or all of it, contact us for a consult today!
What happens if there is damage to a rental unit over and above the amount of a security deposit?
This question really rests at the limits of landlord tenant law, and veers more into the realm of general civil litigation. Generally, if a landlord has damages over and above the amount of the security deposit, their remedy is to sue the tenant. That lawsuit is usually in small claims court, but if the damages are high enough a landlord can sue the tenant in a regular civil courtroom. Of course a landlord may face challenges in doing so. It may be difficult to locate a tenant who has moved out. A landlord should also consider what assets the tenant might have. While a landlord can get a money judgement against a tenant whenever the facts and the law warrant it, money judgments are not self-enforcing. The tenant would need to have assets to actually pay off the money judgment, and the landlord would have to be aware of those assets and find them. For this reason, many tenants are effectively “judgment proof”.
If you have questions related to suing a former tenant, please feel free to set up a consultation with us today!
What does the eviction process consist of in the State of Oregon?
While every situation is different, and different courts have slightly different procedures, all Oregon evictions (also known as “Forcible Entry and Detainer” or “FED” actions) follow the same basic pattern.
To begin with, the tenant’s tenancy must come to an end. If they still have an active tenancy they generally cannot be evicted. Usually tenancies end when a landlord or tenant take some action to terminate them, although in some cases they can simply expire due to the passage of time. Usually a tenancy is terminated by way of delivery of a termination notice. There are many different kinds of termination notices in Oregon, and they all have a “notice period” meant to give the other party warning that the tenancy is coming to an end.
Once the tenancy ends, if the tenant is still in possession of the premises, the landlord has to file a case in the Circuit Court of the county where the property is located. The paperwork for the case (usually called the “Complaint”) will have to be served on the tenant in accordance with Oregon Law.
The Court will set a court date on the day that your case is filed, and the court date is usually 1 to 2 weeks after you file your case. Because of this, you are required to make sure the tenant is served by the end of the next judicial day (meaning the next day that the Courts are open).
At the Court date, if the tenant fails to appear then the Court will usually render default Judgment against them, requiring them to vacate the premises. If they do show up, the Court will usually make the landlord and tenant try to work out a settlement. Sometimes the Court will have professional mediators on hand to assist in this process, but other times they may simply have the parties step out into the courthouse hallway to see if they can work it out themselves.
If the landlord and tenant can work out a deal then the Court will usually have someone put it in writing, and the parties and the judge will sign it. It then becomes legally enforceable both as a Judgment of the Court and as a contract between the landlord and the tenant.
If the parties cannot come to an agreement, the Court will set the matter down for trial, which will usually happen on a different day. When the trial is set depends on the availability of the Court.
The questions the Court will have to answer at the trial will be whether there were grounds for the landlord to terminate the lease, and whether the landlord properly followed all of the procedures necessary to evict someone.
Procedure is very important. Evictions are a “summary” proceeding in Oregon. This means that there is an expedited timeline to have your case heard in front of a Court. Eviction cases play out in a span of weeks, rather than months or years like other forms of litigation. The tradeoff for that quick process is that a landlord has to cross all their “Ts” and dot all their “Is”. If there is any procedural defect, the landlord may have their case dismissed and they may have to start all over again with a new complaint or sometimes even a new termination notice.
If the Court renders an eviction Judgment, the landlord can generally deliver the Judgment to the county Sheriff who will then put the eviction on their calendar. Note, that the Judgment may not be effective immediately, and a landlord generally cannot deliver a Judgment to the sheriff until it becomes effective. The Judgment will say when it becomes effective. Usually the sheriff will give the tenant a written notice a few days prior to when they will show up to remove the tenant from the premises.
This is a very simplified explanation of the eviction process. Make an appointment for a consultation today to discuss your situation, how these rules may affect you, and what other rules may be important for your case!
How does a landlord properly screen potential tenants?
Landlords can generally inquire as to the finances and character of potential tenants prior to renting space to them. That said, different city ordinances often have different rules for what landlords can and cannot ask about in a tenant screening. If you have questions about a screening process, make an appointment for a consult today!
Landlords can also charge fees for tenant screening, but only up to the cost necessary to obtain the information that the landlord uses in their screening. This includes things like paying someone a reasonable fee to contact references, or running credit or background checks. A landlord has to disclose the expenses they incurred in screening a tenant.
In order to charge a screening fee a landlord also has to give notice of what they will be checking, and what the landlord’s criteria are for renting from them. A landlord also has to give the tenant notice that they have the right to dispute or appeal negative information in a tenant screening. A landlord also has to give notice of what the rent, deposits, and fees will be, and if they require renter’s insurance, if they are to charge a screening fee.
Lastly to charge a screening fee, a landlord has to give notice of the number of units that they own in the area that are available, or which they expect to become available soon, and how many applicants are being considered for those units.
A landlord cannot discriminate against tenants at the screening stage (or any other time) on the basis of race, skin color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national original, marital status, familial status, or source of income.
Familial status and source of income can be confusing concepts. Familial status refers to unrelated individuals choosing to live together. It is not discrimination on the basis of familial status for a landlord to decline to rent to someone on the basis that too many people would be living in too small of a space. The maximum number of renters in a dwelling unit is a creature of local/city ordinance, and is usually X number of tenants per bedroom per dwelling unit. Source of income discrimination usually refers to landlords refusing to rent to people who receive housing assistance. Refusal to rent to someone on the basis that they receive Section 8 assistance is generally prohibited, for example.
When can a tenant withhold rent?
Tenants are often surprised at how difficult it is to legally withhold rent from a landlord. The procedure to do so depends on the tenant’s reason for doing so. Almost all of the enforceable reasons have to do with violations of habitability or the lease.
For minor violations of habitability, meaning violations which can reasonably be fixed for $300 or less, the tenant can give written notice to the landlord, giving them at least seven days’ reasonable notice to enact the repair, and if the landlord does not take reasonable steps to make the repair, the tenant can repair the issue themselves and deduct the cost from the rent.
More generally, if a tenant has a legal claim against a landlord stemming from their relationship as landlord and tenant, and the landlord has or is given actual notice of the facts constituting the tenant’s claim against the landlord, and if the tenant withholds an amount of rent equal to the amount of the tenant’s claim against the landlord, and if the landlord commences an FED action against the tenant for nonpayment of rent, then the tenant can use their claim against the landlord as a counterclaim in that FED action, and if they prevail in proving their counterclaim, then for all intents and purposes, they have successfully “withheld rent” from the landlord.
Situations in which a tenant may be able to effectively withhold rent are very case specific. If you have questions as to whether you or your tenant are allowed to withhold rent, make an appointment for a consultation today!
How do pets and pet rent work?
As a practical matter, “pet rent” is an additional monthly fee that landlords are permitted to charge in exchange for allowing a tenant to have an animal living with them in the dwelling unit.
Pet rent (and pet regulations in the dwelling unit) are essentially creatures of contract between the landlord and the tenant.
The subject area where there tends to be the most confusion and conflict regarding pets and animals is when they are considered service or support animals.
Service and support animals are not the same thing, although they may be employed for similar purposes.
A service animal is an animal that is actually trained to provide a service to its owner. As a general rule, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landlord should start with the presumption that an animal who is trained to provide a service to a tenant is allowed. That being said, the landlord will have to consider whether allowing a service animal who would otherwise not be allowed would be considered a ”reasonable accommodation” allowing the tenant to access housing. If there is a practical way to allow the animal, or amend the rules so that the animal is allowed without being unduly burdensome to the landlord or other tenants, the landlord probably has to allow the animal. Note, that for normal pets a landlord is allowed to charge additional rent or security deposit, but they cannot charge additional rent or deposit for a service animal if the tenant needs it as a reasonable accommodation.
Support animals are a much more nebulous concept. Support animals are animals who may benefit their owner, but who have not been trained to provide any specific service to them. For support animals, a landlord can start with the presumption that they are normal pets. If the tenant claims that they need the support animal as a reasonable accommodation then the landlord should ask whether that is the case (using the same standard as above- would they need this animal so that they can access housing, and if so, can the rules be amended for this animal in such a way that it is not unduly burdensome for the landlord or other tenants).
There is a lot of ambiguity regarding pets in rental housing, and certain tenants are very passionate about their animals. The rules for what a landlord can and cannot do are often unclear. If you have questions about pet conduct, pet rent, reasonable accommodation, or who is or is not a good boy, please contact us to make an appointment today.
What happens if a tenant moves out and leaves property behind?
Oregon has a very detailed, but very complex set of rules for how to deal with “abandoned property” once a tenant moves out.
The first question a landlord has to ask is, “has this property been abandoned”? Property is considered abandoned under landlord tenant law when the tenancy expires and the tenant leaves under circumstances that reasonably cause the landlord to believe that they don’t intend to come back, or the tenant is continuously absent from the premises for at least seven days after the tenancy has been expired, or the sheriff comes to remove the tenant from the premises.
At that point, if there is still tenant property in the dwelling unit, the landlord has to deliver a notice to the tenant informing them that they have property in the dwelling, and advising them of their right to claim the property (which admittedly the tenant may be unlikely to actually see- however landlord tenant law is all about procedure).
During the notice period in that notice, the landlord must reasonably store the tenant’s property. That does not mean that they have to rent a storage unit (although the landlord is allowed to do that)- the landlord can keep the property anyplace where it will be reasonably safe.
If the abandoned property consists of perishable food, the landlord is allowed to throw it out. If the tenant abandons a pet or other animal, the landlord should call animal control.
If the tenant contacts the landlord during the notice period and tells them that they intend to retrieve the abandoned property, the landlord has to make it reasonably available to the tenant. Usually this means arranging for a mutually agreeable time for the tenant to come and retrieve the property.
If the landlord does not hear from the tenant, then they are allowed to sell the property, or dispose it in other ways if it is worth less than $1,000, or would cost more to sell than the landlord would likely realize from the sale. If a landlord sells tenant property in this way, they can deduct the proceeds from the sale from unpaid rent or storage charges, and then they have to remit the rest back to the tenant. If the tenant can’t be found, the money has to be deposited with the treasurer of the county in which the dwelling unit is located. The tenant then has three years to claim the leftover proceeds, or otherwise they will be kept by the state.
This is a very simplified explanation of the abandoned property process. If you have questions about property that may have been left behind in a rental unit, contact us today for a consultation!