Renter rights by state

Oregon renter rights: the basics for first-time renters

Last reviewed: October 2026 · First Apartment Kit

Oregon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is ORS Chapter 90, with eviction court procedure in ORS Chapter 105. Oregon has statewide rent-increase limits and, after the first year, limits on no-cause terminations. This guide summarizes those statutes as published by the Oregon Legislature, the rent-increase figures published by the Department of Administrative Services, and the Oregon Judicial Department's eviction instructions for tenants.

Quick facts

Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.

Security deposits

• Cap: Oregon law doesn't set a maximum. A written lease must list the deposit, and the landlord must give you a receipt. A last month's rent deposit counts as a security deposit.
• No increases in year one: the landlord can't require a new or larger deposit during the first year, except an agreed deposit tied to a change like adding a pet. After that, you get at least three months to pay any increase.
• Assistance animals: no pet deposit for a service or companion animal you need as a disability accommodation.
• Deductions: only what's reasonably needed to cover unpaid rent or other lease defaults and damage you caused beyond ordinary wear and tear. Labor must be billed at a reasonable hourly rate. Carpet-cleaning charges are allowed only in limited situations spelled out in the law.
• Return: within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession, the landlord must give you a written accounting of any claim and return the rest, in person or by first-class mail.
• Penalty: if the landlord misses the deadline or withholds in bad faith, you can recover twice the amount withheld without an accounting or in bad faith.

Rent increases and late fees

Rent increases (most tenancies other than week-to-week):

• No increase during the first year of the tenancy.
• After that, at least 90 days' written notice, stating the amount of the increase, the new rent, and the effective date.
• No more than once in any 12-month period.
• No more than the yearly maximum published by the state: 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027, per the Department of Administrative Services. By law it's the lesser of 10% or 7% plus inflation.
• The cap doesn't apply if the unit's first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the notice, or in certain regulated affordable housing.
• A landlord who raises rent above the cap owes you three months' rent plus actual damages.

Week-to-week tenancies need 7 days' written notice of an increase.

Late fees: allowed only if rent isn't received by the 4th day of the rental period and a written lease spells out the fee and the due dates. The fee must be a reasonable flat amount (the customary local amount) once per period, a limited daily fee starting on day 5, or 5% of the rent for each five-day period it stays late. Not paying a late fee alone isn't grounds for a nonpayment eviction, and the landlord can't take a late fee out of your next rent payment to make it look short.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

You can end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice, or a week-to-week tenancy with 10 days' notice.

The landlord can end a month-to-month tenancy without cause only during the first year of occupancy, with at least 30 days' written notice. After the first year, the landlord needs either a tenant cause (like nonpayment or a lease violation, with the notice the law requires) or a qualifying landlord reason with at least 90 days' written notice that states the reason:

• demolishing the unit or converting it to non-residential use;
• major repairs or renovations that make the unit unsafe or unfit to live in;
• the landlord or an immediate family member moving in (if no comparable unit in the building is available); or
• a sale to a buyer who will live there.

For these landlord reasons, the landlord must also pay you one month's rent when giving notice, unless the landlord owns four or fewer units. A landlord who violates these rules owes you three months' rent plus actual damages, and you have a defense to the eviction.

Fixed-term leases that end after the first year generally turn into month-to-month tenancies unless you agree to a new term, you give 30 days' notice, or the landlord has a qualifying reason. Different rules apply when the landlord lives on a property with no more than two units.

When the landlord can come in

The landlord must give at least 24 hours' actual notice and enter only at reasonable times, unless you agree otherwise for a specific entry. Exceptions include emergencies (the landlord must tell you within 24 hours if they entered while you were out) and entry to make repairs you requested in writing, which is good for seven days unless work is in progress.

Repairs and living conditions

The landlord must keep the home habitable. That includes weatherproofing, working plumbing, hot and cold running water, heat, electrical wiring, clean and pest-free grounds, garbage receptacles, sound floors, walls, and stairs, a working smoke alarm at move-in, and a carbon monoxide alarm where required.

• End the lease: give written notice that the lease will end at least 30 days later unless the problem is fixed within 7 days (essential services) or 30 days (other problems). You can also sue for damages.
• Minor repairs, $300 or less: give written notice with a repair date at least 7 days out. If it's not fixed, you can have a qualified person (not yourself) do the work and deduct up to $300 from rent with the repairer's written statement of the cost. This doesn't cover mold, radon, asbestos, or lead paint.
• Essential services (like heat or water): after written notice and a reasonable time, you can buy the service and deduct the cost, recover damages for reduced rental value, or, if the home is unsafe or unfit, move to substitute housing and skip rent for that period. If the loss is an imminent, serious threat, written notice can end the lease in as little as 48 hours unless it's fixed.

Eviction basics

Unpaid rent: for most tenancies, the landlord must give written notice of either at least 10 days (served no sooner than the 8th day of the rental period) or at least 13 days (served no sooner than the 5th day). The notice must state the amount owed and the deadline to pay. For week-to-week tenancies the notice is 72 hours (served no sooner than day 5). Nonpayment notices and summonses must also include the state's notice about rental assistance. The court must dismiss the case if that notice wasn't delivered, or if you or a rental assistance program paid the amount owed.

Court: the court sets the first appearance about 7 days after filing, or 15 days for nonpayment cases. The clerk can push it back up to 7 more days. You must show up on the date on the summons, and there's no fee to appear. The Oregon Judicial Department says you can pay the full amount owed for nonpayment at any time before trial and ask the judge to dismiss. You still need to appear.

No lockouts or shutoffs: if a landlord unlawfully removes or locks you out, or cuts heat, water, electricity, or other essential services, you can get a court order or end the lease and recover up to two months' rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater.

Retaliation and discrimination

Retaliation: a landlord can't raise rent, cut services, serve a termination notice, or threaten or bring an eviction because you made a good-faith complaint, complained to a government agency, joined a tenants' union, testified against the landlord, or asserted your rights under federal, state, or local law.

Discrimination: ORS 659A.421 bans housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, familial status, or source of income (including housing assistance). The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Civil Rights Division takes housing discrimination complaints.

City and county rules

Some Oregon cities have their own renter rules on top of state law. Check with your city's housing office, and see Oregon Housing and Community Services for statewide renter resources.

Move-in checklist for Oregon renters

• ☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
• ☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
• ☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
• ☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
• ☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
• ☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
• ☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
• ☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar

Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.

Where to get help in Oregon

• Oregon Judicial Department — Landlord-Tenant Self-Help — eviction instructions and statewide court forms.
• BOLI — Housing Discrimination Complaint — file a fair housing complaint with the state.
• Oregon Housing and Community Services — state housing agency; rental assistance programs.
• Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
• File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.

More help

Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):

• Oregon Law Help — free legal information and help finding legal aid (nonprofit).

Official sources

These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.

• ORS Chapter 90, Residential Landlord and Tenant (incl. 90.260 late fees, 90.300 deposits, 90.320 habitability, 90.322 entry, 90.323–90.324 rent increases, 90.360–90.368 repairs, 90.375 lockouts, 90.385 retaliation, 90.394 nonpayment, 90.427 terminations)
• ORS Chapter 105, eviction procedure (105.135 first appearance)
• ORS 659A.421, Housing discrimination
• Oregon DAS Office of Economic Analysis — Rent Stabilization (maximum increase)
• Oregon Judicial Department — Residential Eviction Information for Tenants (PDF)

Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.

← Renter rights in every state