Oregon’s residential landlord-tenant law lives in Chapter 90 of the Oregon Revised Statutes, and it governs most of what happens between a renter and a landlord in the state: what the unit must provide, how much the rent can rise, how deposits work, when the landlord can come inside, and the narrow set of reasons a tenancy can be ended. The protections are among the more detailed in the country, including a statewide annual rent increase cap (9.5% for 2026) and a near-total ban on no-cause evictions once a tenant has lived in the unit for more than a year.
Who the Law Covers
Chapter 90 applies to most residential rentals: houses, apartments, and manufactured home spaces. Several arrangements sit outside it, and if yours is one of them, these rules do not apply. The excluded categories are hotel and motel stays, housing tied to a medical or educational institution, occupancy by members of a fraternal organization, vacation rentals, employee housing where your right to live there depends on your job, agricultural-use premises, and short-term occupancy by a buyer or seller around a real estate closing.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.110 – Exclusions From Application of This Chapter
At or before the start of a tenancy, the landlord must give you written notice of who manages the property and who is authorized to accept legal notices on the owner’s behalf, and that information must stay current throughout the tenancy.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.305 – Disclosure of Certain Matters The lease itself must disclose the smoking policy, and the landlord has to give you a copy of the written agreement and any later amendments.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.220 – Terms and Conditions of Rental Agreement A lease cannot force you to waive your legal rights, cap the landlord’s liability for negligence, or make you pay the landlord’s attorney fees as a blanket obligation. Those provisions are unenforceable even if both sides signed, and a landlord who knowingly includes and tries to enforce one is liable for up to three months’ rent plus actual damages.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.245 – Prohibited Provisions in Rental Agreements
How Much Rent Can Go Up Each Year
Oregon caps annual rent increases under ORS 90.323. For 2026, the maximum is 9.5%.5Oregon.gov. Rent Stabilization – Office of Economic Analysis The formula is set in statute: the lesser of 10% or 7% plus the consumer price index, recalculated every year.
Several timing rules sit alongside the cap. No increase is allowed during the first year of a tenancy. After that, the landlord must give at least 90 days’ written notice before an increase takes effect, and only one increase is permitted in any 12-month period. The notice has to state both the dollar amount of the increase and the new rent total. A landlord who exceeds the cap owes the tenant three months’ rent plus actual damages.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.323 – Maximum Rent Increase
Two types of housing are exempt from the cap: units whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the increase notice, and affordable housing units regulated by a government program where the increase is required by program rules or reflects a change in tenant income.
Deposits, Fees, and Late Charges
Oregon treats security deposits and nonrefundable fees as separate categories with different rules. A security deposit secures your performance under the lease but remains your property during the tenancy. Prepaid rent is earmarked for a future rental period and is accounted for separately.7Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.300 – Security Deposits and Prepaid Rent
When you move out, the landlord has 31 days to either return the deposit or send a written accounting that explains each deduction. Deductions can cover damage beyond normal wear and tear, or cleaning costs needed to restore the unit to move-in condition, but each charge has to be justified. Skipping the written accounting or withholding money in bad faith makes the landlord liable for double the amount wrongfully kept.
Nonrefundable fees fall under ORS 90.302. A fee has to be described in the written rental agreement, and the law limits what can be charged at the start of a tenancy. An unauthorized fee entitles you to twice your actual damages or $300, whichever is greater.8Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.302 – Fees Allowed for Certain Landlord Expenses
Applicant screening charges are capped at the landlord’s actual average cost of screening, or the customary rate charged by tenant screening companies for a comparable check. There is no fixed dollar figure in the statute; the ceiling tracks real costs.9Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.295 – Applicant Screening Charges
Late fees are also regulated. A landlord cannot charge one unless rent is at least four days overdue and the written lease specifies the type and amount of the charge. The statute allows three structures and the landlord picks one: a reasonable flat fee per rental period, a daily charge starting on the fifth day of the period and capped at 6% of the flat fee amount, or a 5% charge on monthly rent levied once for each five-day block the payment is overdue, also starting on the fifth day.10Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.260 – Late Rent Payment Charge or Fee
Habitability: What the Landlord Must Keep Up
Every rental in Oregon has to be habitable for the entire tenancy. ORS 90.320 lists the specific conditions, and most landlord-tenant disputes trace back to one of them.11Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.320 – Landlord to Maintain Premises in Habitable Condition A unit must have:
- Effective weatherproofing of the roof, exterior walls, windows, and doors.
- Hot and cold running water, a connection to an approved sewage system, and safe drinking water.
- A safely working heating system that keeps the unit adequately warm.
- Wiring and lighting that meet the safety codes in effect when they were installed.
- Clean, hazard-free common areas (hallways, stairways, parking lots, shared spaces).
- Structurally sound floors, walls, ceilings, and stairs.
When a landlord falls short, the tenant has remedies. Depending on the problem, those can include withholding rent into escrow, arranging the repair and deducting the cost from rent, or pursuing a claim for the reduced rental value of a substandard unit.
What Tenants Owe in Return
Habitability runs both ways. ORS 90.325 sets out the tenant’s duties, and falling short on these can be grounds for a termination notice.12Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.325 – Tenant Duties You must use rooms and fixtures for their intended purpose, keep your portion of the premises as clean and sanitary as its condition allows, dispose of garbage safely and legally, keep plumbing fixtures clean, test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at least every six months and notify the landlord in writing if one is not working, and behave in a way that does not disturb your neighbors’ peace. The same rules apply to your guests. Deliberately or negligently damaging the rental is a violation, and so is letting a guest do it.
When the Landlord Can Come Inside
Your landlord can enter the unit, but not on a whim. Under ORS 90.322, entry requires at least 24 hours’ notice and must happen at a reasonable time. Permitted reasons include inspection, repairs or improvements, agreed-upon services, yard maintenance, and showings to prospective tenants, buyers, or contractors. You and the landlord can agree to a different arrangement for a particular visit.13Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.322 – Landlord or Agent Access to Premises
Emergencies are the one exception. If there is an immediate risk of serious damage, the landlord can enter without notice or consent. After an emergency entry made while you were out, the landlord must notify you within 24 hours of the date, time, nature of the emergency, and names of everyone who entered.
Ending a Tenancy
How a tenancy ends depends on who is ending it, why, and how long the tenant has lived there. An improperly served notice is legally void, so the stakes on getting the procedure right are real.
Nonpayment of Rent
For a standard month-to-month tenancy, the landlord serves either a 10-day or 13-day written notice for unpaid rent. A 10-day notice can be served starting on the eighth day of the rental period. A 13-day notice can be served starting on the fifth day.14Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.394 – Termination of Tenancy for Failure to Pay Rent Week-to-week tenancies get a 72-hour notice served no sooner than the fifth day of the period. In every case, paying the full rent owed within the notice window stops the termination.
Other For-Cause Terminations
For violations other than nonpayment, the landlord delivers a 30-day written notice that identifies the specific problem and, if the violation can be cured, describes at least one way to cure it. The tenant gets at least 14 days from delivery to fix the issue and keep the tenancy.15Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.392 – Termination of Tenancy for Cause Not every violation is curable. Repeated violations of the same type, and conduct that poses an immediate threat, can lead to termination without a cure period.
No-Cause and Landlord-Reason Terminations
Oregon tightly restricts no-cause terminations. During the first year of occupancy, either party can end a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days’ written notice and no reason required. After the first year, no-cause terminations are off the table. A landlord can only terminate for a documented tenant violation or for a qualifying landlord reason.16Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.427 – Termination of Tenancy Without Tenant Cause
Qualifying landlord reasons include plans to demolish or convert the unit, major renovations that make the unit unlivable during construction, the landlord or an immediate family member moving in, and an accepted purchase offer from someone who intends to live there. Each requires a 90-day written notice that states the reason and the supporting facts. At the time the notice is delivered, the landlord must also pay the tenant one month’s rent as relocation assistance. Landlords who own four or fewer residential rental units are exempt from the relocation payment but still owe the full 90-day notice.
Tenant-Initiated Termination
A tenant on a month-to-month lease can end the tenancy with at least 30 days’ written notice. Week-to-week tenants need at least 10 days. A fixed-term lease generally ends on its own at the expiration date, but after the first year it converts to month-to-month unless both sides agree to a new fixed term.
Retaliation Is Prohibited
If you complain to a government agency about a housing code violation, join a tenants’ organization, or assert any right under landlord-tenant law, the landlord cannot punish you for it. ORS 90.385 bars a landlord from raising your rent, cutting services, or serving a termination notice in response to protected tenant activity, which also includes filing a good-faith complaint with the landlord, testifying against the landlord in any proceeding, and operating a licensed family child care home in compliance with state law.17Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.385 – Retaliatory Conduct by Landlord Retaliation can be raised as a defense in an eviction action, and the tenant can pursue damages.
Early Release for Victims of Domestic Violence
Oregon lets victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or bias crimes break a lease without penalty. Under ORS 90.453, a tenant who has experienced any of these within the preceding 90 days can give the landlord at least 14 days’ written notice requesting release from the rental agreement. Immediate family members named in the notice are released as well.18Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 90.453 – Release of Victim From Tenancy
The notice must come with verification: a copy of a protective order, a police report, a conviction record for the relevant crime, or a signed statement in the form the statute provides. Time the perpetrator spent in jail or living more than 100 miles away does not count against the 90-day window.
Fair Housing and Assistance Animals
Federal fair housing law sits on top of Chapter 90. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability, and Oregon civil rights law adds further protected classes.19U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act
Assistance animals come up often. If you have a disability, you can request a reasonable accommodation to keep a service animal or emotional support animal regardless of a no-pets policy. The landlord can ask for documentation connecting the animal to your disability-related need, but cannot charge a pet deposit for the animal or deny the request without engaging in an interactive process to explore alternatives. A landlord may deny the request only if there is no verified disability-related need, the animal poses a direct threat, or the accommodation would create an undue burden.