Oregon eviction laws let a landlord remove a tenant only for a reason the statute recognizes, only after delivering the right written notice, and only through a court judgment carried out by the sheriff. A landlord cannot ask a tenant to leave on a handshake, change the locks, or shut off the power. The state also caps 2026 rent increases at 9.5 percent, requires a relocation payment in certain terminations, and gives tenants defenses that can end a case before trial. One procedural slip by the landlord usually ends the case.
Grounds That Allow an Eviction
Three categories cover most residential evictions in Oregon, and each one carries its own notice period.
Nonpayment of rent is governed by ORS 90.394. For a week-to-week tenancy, the landlord may deliver a 72-hour notice no sooner than the fifth day of the rental period. For every other tenancy, including the standard month-to-month lease, the landlord picks between a 10-day notice delivered no sooner than the eighth day or a 13-day notice delivered no sooner than the fifth day. Paying the full balance before the notice period runs out keeps the tenancy alive.
Lease violations fall under ORS 90.392. The landlord must deliver a 30-day termination notice that describes the violation. If the problem can be fixed, the notice must give the tenant at least 14 days to cure it. A tenant who fixes the issue inside that window keeps the tenancy.
Serious misconduct is handled under ORS 90.396 with a 24-hour notice. The statute reaches inflicting or threatening serious physical injury to someone on or near the property, causing substantial property damage, and acts the statute labels “outrageous in the extreme,” including drug manufacturing, burglary, and bias crimes. A 24-hour notice carries no right to cure.
No-Cause Terminations Are Mostly Off the Table
Since Senate Bill 608 passed in 2019, a landlord generally cannot end a tenancy without cause once the tenant has lived in the unit for more than 12 months. After the first year, the landlord needs a “qualifying landlord reason” under ORS 90.427. The recognized reasons include demolishing the unit or converting it to non-residential use, renovations that make it unsafe to occupy, moving in the landlord or an immediate family member, and selling to a buyer who intends to live there.
A no-cause notice is still allowed during the first year of any tenancy. After the first year, a landlord who lives on the same property in a building with no more than two units, such as a duplex or a house with an accessory dwelling unit, can still terminate without cause by giving at least 60 days’ written notice.
How the Notice Must Be Delivered
Getting the notice right is the single most important step. A notice with the wrong timeframe, the wrong delivery method, or missing information will likely be dismissed in court. The main timelines are:
- Nonpayment, week-to-week tenancy: 72-hour notice, no sooner than day five of the rental period.
- Nonpayment, all other tenancies: 10-day notice no sooner than day eight, or 13-day notice no sooner than day five.
- Curable lease violation: 30-day notice with at least 14 days to cure.
- Serious misconduct: 24-hour notice specifying the acts involved.
- Qualifying landlord reason: 90-day notice with a relocation payment.
- No-cause during the first year, or owner-occupied duplex after the first year: 30 or 60 days depending on the situation.
Delivery has to use a method the courts recognize. Personal delivery to the tenant or a household member is the cleanest. First-class mail works, but mailing adds three days to every notice period. Some leases permit a “post and mail” method, where the notice is attached to the main entrance and a copy is mailed the same day. An unauthorized delivery method is one of the fastest ways to lose an eviction case.
Relocation Assistance for Qualifying Reasons
A landlord who terminates under a qualifying landlord reason in ORS 90.427 must pay the tenant one month’s periodic rent, measured at the time the notice is delivered. The payment is not optional, and leaving it out can invalidate the notice. Landlords who own four or fewer residential rental units are exempt from the payment. Portland imposes its own relocation assistance on top of the state rule, with amounts that vary by unit size and are updated periodically; landlords operating in Portland should check the Portland Housing Bureau’s current schedule.
Going to Court: The FED Case
If the tenant does not leave or cure during the notice period, the landlord files a Forcible Entry and Detainer action in the local circuit court by submitting a Residential Eviction Complaint and Summons. The residential eviction filing fee is $88 statewide. A party who demands a jury trial pays an additional $125.
After filing, the tenant must be formally served by a process server or county sheriff. The court sets a “first appearance.” Nonpayment cases are scheduled 15 days after the judicial day following filing; all other eviction grounds are set 7 days out. At the first appearance, both sides meet with a judge or mediator to see whether the matter can resolve without trial.
If the tenant contests the eviction and no agreement is reached, the court sets trial. Nonpayment trials happen no earlier than 15 days and no later than 30 days after the first appearance. Other eviction types go to trial as soon as practicable and within 15 days of the appearance. Tenants may demand a jury by paying the additional fee. The judge or jury then decides whether the landlord has the right to possession.
Enforcing the Judgment and the Ban on Self-Help
A ruling for the landlord produces a judgment of restitution. Enforcement under ORS 105.151 runs in two steps. The clerk first issues a notice of restitution, served on the tenant, giving four days to move out and remove personal property. Only after those four days pass can the landlord request a writ of execution. The sheriff serves the writ, physically removes anyone still inside, and returns possession to the landlord.
Self-help is flatly prohibited. A landlord who changes the locks, removes doors or windows, shuts off utilities, or hauls out a tenant’s property without a court order violates ORS 90.375. The tenant can sue for injunctive relief to get back in and can recover up to two months’ rent or twice their actual damages, whichever is greater. The landlord must also return the full security deposit. Those penalties apply even if the tenant owed rent or broke the lease. Only a sheriff acting on a writ of execution can remove a tenant.
Defenses That Can Stop an Eviction
Oregon gives tenants several defenses that can defeat an eviction even when the basic steps look right.
Retaliation
Under ORS 90.385, a landlord cannot evict in retaliation for a tenant exercising a legal right. Protected activities include filing a written complaint with a government agency about building or safety code violations, making a good-faith complaint to the landlord, joining a tenants’ union, and testifying against the landlord in a legal proceeding. If the tenant shows the eviction followed one of these activities, the court can dismiss. The landlord can overcome the defense by proving the complaint was harassing, the code violation was caused by the tenant, or the tenant was behind on rent when the notice was served.
Habitability Failures
ORS 90.320 requires landlords to keep units habitable at all times: working plumbing, heating, and electrical systems, safe structural conditions, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, weatherproofing, and sanitary common areas. A tenant facing a nonpayment eviction can argue the landlord’s failure to maintain the property justified withholding rent. The defense does not permit indefinite nonpayment, but it can defeat an eviction where serious maintenance problems were ignored.
Procedural Defects in the Notice
Courts enforce the technical requirements. A notice with the wrong timeframe, the wrong delivery method, no description of a possible cure, or the wrong parties named can be dismissed on the tenant’s motion. This is where most landlord-handled evictions fall apart.
Rent Increase Caps
Rent increases and evictions often get tangled, but they are separate rules. For 2026, ORS 90.323 caps the annual increase for standard residential tenancies at 9.5 percent, calculated as the lesser of 10 percent or 7 percent plus the Consumer Price Index. The landlord must give at least 90 days’ written notice before any increase takes effect. First-year increases are not capped, but an increase above the legal maximum after the first year is unenforceable and can be challenged. A rent increase is not an eviction, and an unlawful increase does not give the landlord grounds to evict for the unpaid overage.
Security Deposits Are a Separate Process
The security deposit rules under ORS 90.300 run on their own track, whether the tenant left voluntarily or was evicted. The landlord has 31 days after the tenancy ends and possession is surrendered to return the deposit or deliver an itemized written accounting of deductions. Each charge must be specified. A landlord who misses the deadline or withholds in bad faith can be ordered to pay up to twice the amount improperly withheld. Landlords who treat the eviction and the deposit as one process sometimes end up owing more in deposit penalties than they recovered through the court case.