Oregon Landlord-Tenant Laws 2026: What Renters and Landlords Need to Know
Oregon Rental Law 2026: The Post-SB 608 Rules, Precisely
ORS Chapter 90 runs statewide. Oregon’s 2019 rent-cap law, SB 608, folded right into this same chapter. No county line to check. No population gate either. What needs fixing here isn’t scope. It’s precision. This guide had real numbers wrong in three separate places. Which units are exempt from the rent cap. How long a landlord waits before a no-cause move-out in year one. Which statute actually lets a tenant deduct a repair cost. Each one can cost a reader real money if they trust the old figure.
Security Deposits in Oregon
| Requirement | Oregon Law |
|---|---|
| Maximum Deposit | No dollar cap. But no increase at all during a tenant’s first year — and a later increase gives the tenant three months to pay it |
| Return Deadline | 31 days after the tenancy ends and possession changes hands |
| Interest Required? | No |
| Wrongful Withholding Penalty | Double the amount, if the landlord skips the written accounting or acts in bad faith |
Two things most guides skip. A pet deposit can’t be charged against a service or companion animal tied to a tenant’s disability. And a written lease has to list the deposit amount up front. Leaving it out isn’t a small gap. It’s noncompliance with the statute itself.
Lease Agreements and Disclosures
Under a year, an oral lease works fine. A year or longer needs writing. Before signing, a landlord owes the tenant:
- Lead-based paint hazards for housing built before 1978 (federal requirement)
- Carbon monoxide alarm testing instructions, where a carbon monoxide source exists
- Known flood zone status, mold conditions, and the building’s smoking policy
- Owner or property-manager contact information
Rent Increases and Late Fees
| Rule | Oregon Law |
|---|---|
| Rent Control | Statewide since SB 608 (2019). Capped at the lesser of 10% or 7% plus regional CPI, once every 12 months |
| Cap Exemption | New construction only — first certificate of occupancy issued less than 15 years before the increase. Not a general vacant-unit exemption |
| Notice for Increase | None allowed in year one. After that: 90 days for most tenancies, 7 days for week-to-week |
| Grace Period | Not fixed by this statute. Late fees run on their own reasonableness rule instead |
Get the cap exemption wrong, and the mistake cuts the dangerous way. Turning a unit over between tenants doesn’t unlock a bigger increase. Only a genuinely new building does. Or a specific regulated-affordable-housing case. The statute goes further than just lacking a turnover exemption, too. For a landlord who ends a tenancy without cause in the first year, ORS 90.323(4) says directly: rent for “the next tenancy” can’t exceed “the maximum amount the landlord could have charged the terminated tenancy under this section.” That’s a named rule against resetting the cap by swapping tenants, not just an absence of one. Go above the cap outside the real carve-outs, and the penalty is real too: three months’ rent, plus actual damages. The old page never mentioned any of it.
Eviction Process in Oregon
Nonpayment doesn’t run on a season. That’s a real misreading worth fixing directly. The notice length depends on which day of the rental period the landlord picks to send it. Not the month on the calendar.
| Eviction Type | Notice Period | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment, Sent Day 8+ | At least 10 days | One of two tracks a landlord can choose — never both at once |
| Nonpayment, Sent Day 5+ | At least 13 days | Earlier notice, longer cure window |
| Nonpayment, Week-to-Week | At least 72 hours | Given no sooner than day 5 of the rental period |
| Lease Violation, Curable | 30-day termination date, 14-day minimum cure window | Fix it inside the cure window and the tenancy holds |
| Serious Safety Violation | 24 hours | Violence, injury threats, intentional damage, or a material lie on the application. No cure offered |
| No-Cause, First Year | 30 days | Not 90. That figure only kicks in after year one, for a specific landlord reason |
| Landlord-Reason Termination, After Year One | 90 days (or 60 days plus one month’s rent for a sale to an owner-occupant) | Demolition, major renovation, owner move-in, or sale — usually paired with a relocation payment, waived only for landlords who own four units or fewer |
Maintenance and Repair Obligations
Implied Warranty of Habitability
ORS 90.320 sets a real, non-waivable duty. The general remedy sits in ORS 90.360. Written notice first. Then termination in 30 days for most problems, or 7 days for an essential-service failure — unless the landlord fixes it first. From there, the tenant sues for damages and an injunction. Not a deduction.
Two Deduction Rights, and the Old Page Cited the Wrong One
The old page pointed to ORS 90.365 for a general “essential repairs” deduction after 7 days. That section is real. It covers something narrower, though: a cut-off utility, like heat or water, not a broken fixture. Its notice period isn’t a fixed 7 days either. The tenant just has to allow the landlord “reasonable time” first.
The actual 7-day, capped deduction right lives at ORS 90.368. The old page never cited it. It only covers a “minor habitability defect” — a leaky pipe, a stuck toilet, a bad light switch. Capped at $300. Mold, radon, asbestos, and lead paint are explicitly excluded. Written notice comes first, naming a repair deadline at least seven days out. The tenant can’t do the work personally. Someone else has to, and their written invoice is what gets deducted. Miss a disqualifying condition — landlord already fixed it, tenant caused it, tenant sat on it past six months, or already used this once for the same defect — and the right disappears.
Tenant Rights and Protections
| Protection | Oregon Law |
|---|---|
| Entry Notice | 24 hours’ actual notice for a routine visit, at reasonable times (ORS 90.322). A tenant-requested repair visit needs no further notice for up to 7 days. A true emergency allows entry with no advance notice, followed by notice within 24 hours after |
| Retaliation Protection | ORS 90.385 bars a rent hike, cut services, or an eviction filing tied to a code complaint, union activity, or asserting a legal right. The six-month figure some guides attach here is really a narrower rule — about a tenant who beat a prior eviction case, not a general presumption window |
| Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Bias Crime, or Stalking | Broader than “domestic violence” alone. A tenant gets released on 14 days’ written notice plus verification: a protective order, a police report, a conviction record, or a signed statement from a qualified professional or advocate (ORS 90.453). Related sections cover removing a violent co-tenant, barring discrimination against a victim, letting the rest of the household stay, and a lock-change right |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Oregon’s rent cap have a vacant-unit exemption? No. That’s a common misreading. The real exemption covers new construction — a building whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the increase — plus certain regulated affordable-housing cases. For a first-year no-cause termination specifically, ORS 90.323(4) goes further and directly bars charging the next tenant more than the cap would have allowed the departing one.
How much notice does an Oregon tenant get before a no-cause move-out? 30 days, but only in the first year. After that, a landlord needs a specific statutory reason — an owner move-in, a sale, major renovation — and typically 90 days’ notice plus a relocation payment.
Can an Oregon tenant repair something and deduct the cost from rent? Yes, but only for a “minor habitability defect” capped at $300 under ORS 90.368. Not a broad essential-repairs right. It excludes mold, asbestos, radon, and lead paint. It requires seven days’ notice first, and someone other than the tenant has to do the work.
Does Oregon protect tenants beyond domestic violence specifically? Yes. ORS 90.453 also covers sexual assault, bias crimes, and stalking, with several verification options and a related right to change the locks.