Oregon Rent Increase Notice: Timing, Delivery, and Rent Caps

In Oregon, a landlord has to give you at least 90 days’ written notice before raising the rent on a month-to-month or fixed-term tenancy, and the notice has to state the dollar amount of the increase, the new rent, and the date it takes effect. Week-to-week tenants get a shorter 7-day notice. For 2026, the rent itself is capped at 9.5 percent per year for most rentals, with a separate 6 percent cap for larger manufactured dwelling parks. A notice that misses any required piece, or that arrives late, does not take effect on the date the landlord picked.

How Many Days of Notice You Must Receive

For any tenancy other than week-to-week, the minimum is 90 days’ written notice before the higher rent takes effect. Fixed-term leases get no exception. If the landlord wants a higher rent to kick in when your lease rolls over, the 90-day notice still has to land before the lease ends, giving you the full window to decide whether to stay.¹

Week-to-week tenants get only 7 days of written notice, but they also are not protected by the annual percentage cap.¹

Count the days carefully. If the notice is short, the increase simply does not take effect on the stated date, and the landlord has to start over with a fresh notice and a fresh 90-day clock.

What the Notice Must Say

ORS 90.323(3) spells out what has to appear in writing:

The dollar amount of the increase itself, not just the new total.
The new monthly rent you will owe after the change.
The exact date the higher rent begins.
If the increase exceeds the annual cap, the facts that support an exemption, such as the building being less than 15 years old or the unit being government-regulated affordable housing with specific program rules at play.

The statute does not actually require the landlord to list your current rent, though a careful notice usually includes it so the math is obvious. A notice missing any required element is legally deficient. That gives you grounds to treat the increase as void and demand a corrected notice with a new 90-day window.¹

Pay particular attention to any notice that raises rent above the annual cap. If the landlord claims an exemption, the supporting facts have to be stated in the notice itself. A rent hike above 9.5 percent that comes with no explanation is not a valid notice.

How the Notice Can Be Delivered

ORS 90.155 governs delivery. A rent increase notice can reach you three ways:

Personal delivery, handed to you directly.
First-class mail through the USPS.
Posting on your door and mailing a copy at the same time, but only if your written rental agreement specifically allows that combined method for both sides.

Mail delivery adds three days to the minimum notice period automatically. So a mailed rent increase notice has to go out at least 93 days before the effective date, and the effective date written on the notice has to reflect that longer period.²

If the dispute ever reaches court, the landlord carries the burden of proving you got proper notice on time, which usually means a certificate of mailing or a dated log of personal delivery.

How Much the Rent Can Actually Go Up

Notice timing is only half the question. The rent itself is capped. Oregon’s formula sets the annual limit at the lesser of 10 percent or 7 percent plus the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services publishes the figure each September for the following year. For 2026 that number is 9.5 percent for most residential tenancies.³ The 10 percent ceiling built into the formula is a hard cap, so the number cannot climb above it even in a high-inflation year.⁴

Two timing rules sit on top of the percentage limit. Rent cannot go up at all during your first year in the unit. After that, the landlord can only raise rent once in any 12-month period.¹

Some rentals are outside the percentage cap. The cap does not apply if the first certificate of occupancy for the unit was issued less than 15 years before the notice date. Certain government-regulated affordable housing is also exempt, but only when the increase leaves your actual rent portion unchanged or is required by program rules or an income change. The 90-day notice and the once-a-year frequency rule still apply in those situations.¹

Manufactured dwelling parks and floating home marinas run on a separate statute, ORS 90.600. Starting in 2026, facilities with more than 30 spaces are capped at 6 percent per year, while facilities with 30 or fewer spaces follow the standard 9.5 percent cap. Parks less than 15 years old are exempt from the percentage limit but still owe the same 90-day written notice and the once-a-year frequency.⁵

What to Do If the Notice Is Wrong

If the notice is late, missing a required element, or raises rent above the cap without a stated exemption, the increase does not take legal effect. A landlord who collects an illegal increase is liable for three months’ rent plus any actual damages you suffer, whether the mistake was intentional or just a miscalculation. The same penalty structure applies to manufactured dwelling tenancies.¹⁶

Be careful about paying the higher amount while you figure out whether to challenge it. If you stay past the effective date and pay the new rent, that payment is generally treated as acceptance of the new terms.

A valid notice is not a trap either. A month-to-month tenant who does not want to pay the new rent can end the tenancy by giving written notice at least 30 days before the increase date. Week-to-week tenants need to give at least 10 days. Once the landlord accepts a termination notice, you cannot take it back, so weigh the decision before sending it.¹

Retaliation After You Complained

A rent increase that follows closely on the heels of a complaint or other protected activity may be illegal regardless of the cap. ORS 90.385 bars a landlord from raising rent in retaliation for things like reporting health or safety code violations to a government agency, making a good-faith complaint to the landlord, joining a tenants’ union, testifying against the landlord, or asserting any other right protected by federal, state, or local law. Timing is the strongest signal of retaliation, so if a rent hike arrives shortly after you took one of those steps, document the sequence of events in writing.⁷

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.323 – Maximum Rent Increase; Exceptions
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.155 – Service or Delivery of Written Notice
3
State of Oregon. CORRECTION: 2026 Rent Stabilization Percentages
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.324 – Calculation of Maximum Rent Increase; Publication
5
State of Oregon. CORRECTION: 2026 Rent Stabilization PercentagesOregon Revised Statutes 90.600 – Increases in Rent; Limitations; Notice
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 90.600 – Increases in Rent; Limitations; Notice
7
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.385 – Retaliatory Conduct by Landlord