Oregon Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (9)

The only federally required landlord disclosure requires known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most housing built before 1978. The Oregon legislature dictates the rest of the required disclosures.

1. Landlord’s Contact Info: Oregon law requires landlords to disclose their name and contact information, or that of their authorized representative, to the tenant in writing at the beginning of the rental agreement. This includes how to contact them for repairs or emergencies (ORS 90.305).
2. Carbon Monoxide Alarm: Landlords must disclose and provide a functional carbon monoxide alarm in any rental dwelling where a source of carbon monoxide (like a fireplace or gas appliance) is present. Tenants should be informed of their responsibility to maintain the alarm (ORS 90.317).
3. Common Area Utility: If a tenant has to pay for a utility that also services shared spaces, landlords must disclose how the utility costs are calculated and allocated (ORS 90.315).
4. Flood Plain: If a rental property is in a federally designated flood plain, landlords must disclose this to tenants in writing before signing the lease (ORS 90.228).
5. Pending Legal Action: Landlords must inform tenants of any pending legal action that could affect their tenancy, such as foreclosure proceedings on the property (ORS 90.310).
6. Recycling: Certain Oregon landlords are required to provide tenants with information about recycling programs, including how to properly sort and dispose of recyclable material (ORS 90.318).
7. Smoke Alarm: Landlords must provide a working smoke alarm in every rental unit and ensure tenants understand their responsibility for maintaining the device (ORS 479.270).
8. Smoking: Landlords must disclose their smoking policy in writing, including whether smoking is allowed or prohibited on the rental property and whether there are designated smoking areas (ORS 90.220).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum Security Deposit Amount: While there is no statewide cap on deposits, landlords in Portland, Oregon, should acquaint themselves with that particular city’s codes, which define a maximum amount (Portland City Code 30.01.087).

Receipt of Deposit: Oregon law requires landlords to provide tenants with a receipt (ORS 90.300), though it does not necessarily need to state the deposit’s location.

Deduction Tracking: Oregon landlords must provide a written, itemized statement of any deductions made from the tenant’s security deposit, along with receipts for any repairs or expenses, within 31 days of the tenant moving out (ORS 90.300).

Returning a Tenant’s Security Deposit: Landlords must return security deposits within 31 days of the lease end (ORS 90.300).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance Notice: Unless landlords have an immediate need to enter a property for an emergency, they must give tenants at least 24 hours’ notice before entering (ORS 90.322).

Immediate Access: Landlords have a right to enter a property without a tenant’s consent in emergencies that would cause severe damage to the property if left unremedied. However, after such entry, landlords must provide a notice within 24 hours of entry detailing who entered the property, what the cause was, and when the entry occurred (ORS 90.322).

Landlord Harassment: Under Oregon law, harassment includes unlawful entry, unreasonable lawful entry, and repeated demands for entry. Tenants may seek remedy by either obtaining injunctive relief to prevent such occurrences or terminating the lease agreement altogether. They may even be able to recover actual damages in such a scenario (ORS 90.322).

Rent Payment Laws

Grace Period: In Oregon, tenants have a 4-day grace period after rent is due before landlords can charge late fees. This means landlords cannot impose late fees until the 5th day after rent is due (ORS 90.260).

Late Rent Fees: Oregon landlords can charge reasonable flat or daily late fees. The reasonable flat fee must be in line with market conditions. A daily late fee cannot be more than 6% of the reasonable late fee, and flat fees cannot cost more than 5% of the total rent amount (ORS 90.260).

Tenant’s Right to Withhold Rent: Tenants in Oregon can withhold rent if the rental unit violates health or safety standards, but they must first give written notice to the landlord to make repairs. If the landlord doesn’t act within the specified time, the tenant can then withhold rent (ORS 90.365).

Breach of Rental Agreement

Missed Rent Payment: When a tenant doesn’t pay rent, a landlord may give the tenant a notice that gives the tenant time to pay the rent or face eviction proceedings (ORS 90.394).

Lease Violation: When a tenant violates their lease terms, an Oregon landlord can serve the tenant notice to cure the violation or vacate, allowing the tenant time to remedy the issue. The landlord can pursue eviction if the breach goes uncorrected (ORS 90.392).

Self-Help Evictions: Self-help evictions, where a landlord changes the locks or removes a tenant’s belongings without permission, are illegal in Oregon (ORS 90.375).

Lease Abandonment: If an Oregon tenant abandons their rental property before the lease ends, landlords must reasonably try to find a new tenant (ORS 90.410).

Ending a Lease

Month-to-Month: Oregon tenants must give a 30-day written notice to terminate a month-to-month lease, while landlords must provide a 90-day notice unless certain exceptions apply (ORS 90.427).

Fixed-Term: Tenants can legally break a fixed-term lease early under certain circumstances, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking (ORS 90.453).

Property Abandonment: If a tenant leaves behind property in Oregon, the landlord must provide written notice to the tenant detailing how to retrieve the items. After a certain period defined by law, the landlord may then dispose of the property (ORS 90.425).

Renewing a Lease

Required Renewals: Oregon landlords are not legally required to allow tenants to renew their rental agreements once they expire. Lease renewal is at the landlord’s discretion unless otherwise stated in the lease.

Required Notice: Oregon landlords must provide written notice if they do not intend to renew a fixed-term lease. For leases longer than 1 year, landlords must give at least 90 days’ notice before the lease ends (ORS 90.427).

Rent Control & Stabilization

Oregon’s statewide rent control laws limit how much landlords can increase rent each year. The law caps the maximum annual rent increase at 7% plus the current consumer price index (ORS 90.323). For further details, check out TurboTenant’s Oregon Rent Control article.