Can You Charge First, Last, and Deposit in Oregon?

In Oregon, a landlord can collect first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a security deposit at the start of a lease, but the last month’s rent and the security deposit share a single legal ceiling. For an unfurnished unit, those two together cannot exceed one month’s rent; for a furnished unit, the combined cap is two months’ rent. First month’s rent is the price of occupying the unit that month and sits outside the cap entirely.¹

Why Last Month’s Rent Counts as Part of the Deposit

Oregon’s statute defines “security deposit” to include any last month’s rent deposit. That one definition is what trips up most landlords and tenants. A last month’s rent payment collected upfront is not a separate bucket of money that stacks on top of a security deposit. It lives inside the deposit cap.¹

So a landlord who wants a full month’s security deposit cannot also collect a full last month’s rent on top of it for an unfurnished unit. The two combined have to fit inside one month’s rent. Split them however you want: half and half, two-thirds and one-third, or all deposit and no prepaid last month. The ceiling is the same.

The deposit itself must be listed in the written rental agreement, and the landlord must give a receipt when it’s paid.¹

Why First Month’s Rent Is Different

First month’s rent is a standard rent payment for the initial period of occupancy. It isn’t a deposit, it isn’t held in trust, and it isn’t refundable at the end of the lease. For that reason it doesn’t count toward the one-month (or two-month) deposit limit. It’s simply the price of living in the unit during the first month.

What the Move-In Numbers Actually Look Like

Take an unfurnished apartment renting for $1,500 a month. The maximum a landlord can legally collect at move-in works out like this:

First month’s rent: $1,500, with no cap, because it’s rent for occupancy.
Security deposit on its own: up to $1,500, bringing the move-in total to $3,000.
Security deposit plus last month’s rent: still capped at $1,500 combined. A landlord might split it as $750 deposit and $750 prepaid last month, or any other mix inside the limit.

For a furnished unit at the same $1,500 rent, the deposit ceiling doubles to $3,000, and the move-in collection could reach $4,500. The rule to remember is simple: a landlord cannot stack a full security deposit on top of a full last month’s rent. One eats into the other.

When Last Month’s Rent Gets Applied

When the tenancy ends, the landlord must apply any prepaid last month’s rent to the final month’s rent due. That happens when either party gives a termination notice, when the lease expires on its own terms, or when both sides agree to end the tenancy. Unless the parties agree in writing to do otherwise, the tenant cannot direct the landlord to apply that money to any other month. If part of the prepaid amount isn’t needed, the unused portion is refunded under the same rules that govern security deposit returns.²

Portland Rentals Have Tighter Limits

If the unit is inside Portland city limits, the city code layers additional restrictions on top of state law. Portland caps the security deposit at half a month’s rent when the landlord also collects last month’s rent. If the landlord doesn’t collect last month’s rent, the deposit cap is one full month’s rent. A landlord who conditionally approves an applicant because of credit risk factors may add up to an extra half month’s rent to the deposit.³ Between the state statute and the city code, the more tenant-protective rule controls.

Pet Deposits and “Pet Rent”

A pet deposit is allowed in Oregon, but it counts toward the overall security deposit cap. It doesn’t open a new, separate bucket of money. If a landlord wants a pet deposit, it has to fit inside the same one-month (or two-month) ceiling.

Monthly pet rent, on the other hand, is not legal in Oregon. The statute prohibits any one-time or recurring charge based solely on a tenant’s possession of a pet. A landlord can set reasonable pet rules in the lease and can collect a pet deposit within the cap, but cannot add a recurring surcharge for having an animal.²

A landlord also cannot charge any pet deposit for a service animal or companion animal that a tenant with a disability needs as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws.¹

Screening Fees Charged Before the Lease

Before move-in, a landlord can charge an application screening fee to cover the cost of pulling credit reports, checking references, and running background checks. The fee cannot exceed the landlord’s average actual cost of screening applicants or the customary amount screening companies charge, whichever applies. The landlord must give a receipt, and can only collect one screening fee from the same applicant within any 60-day period, even if the applicant applies for several of the landlord’s units.⁴ This fee is separate from the deposit math and is not refundable the way a deposit is.

Raising the Deposit Later

During the first year of a tenancy, the landlord cannot increase the deposit or require a new one unless both sides agree to change the lease terms, like adding a pet, and the additional deposit relates to that change. After the first year, the landlord can require a new or larger deposit but must give the tenant at least three months to pay it.²

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 90.300 – Security Deposits; Prepaid Rent
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 90 – Residential Landlord and Tenant
3
Portland.gov. Portland City Code 30.01.087 – Security Deposits; Pre-paid Rent
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 90.295 – Applicant Screening Charges; Screening Criteria