Please note: These resources are primarily aimed at low-income tenants. If you are a landlord seeking information, please also see the Oregon State Bar Landlord and Tenant Resources page.
Inventory and Condition Report
Use this report to record the contents and condition of your place when you move in and before moving out.
Rental Agreements
What you should know about rental agreements, including leases, before you rent a place. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Renter's Handbook on Portland's Rental Application and Screening Requirements
Since March 1, 2020, a law in the City of Portland (Fair Access in Renting, or “FAIR ordinance”) requires landlords to follow certain requirements for how they advertise available rental units located in the City of Portland, how they process applications for available rental units, and how they screen applicants. The PDF attached contains information about the City of Portland’s rental application and screening laws.
About Just Cause Eviction and Rent Increase Protections
The Oregon Legislature passed new laws to protect more renters on February 28, 2019. Read more about it here.
Application Fees and Deposits
Information on application fees and security deposits. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Important New Protections for Renters in HB 2001 (2023)
The Oregon Legislature has passed new protections for renters in HB 2001 (2023). Under the new laws, renters have important rights that can help protect from eviction because of nonpayment of rent, fees, or other money owed to a landlord.
Rent and Late Fees
Information about rental payments and fees for late rent. (An excerpt from the 2016 community education booklet: Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon)
Renters’ Rights to Redemption (Late Payment)
Renters in Oregon now have an important new right to stay in their homes if they pay rent or other money owed to a landlord late. Renters have the right to stop an eviction if they pay their landlord late rent, fees, or utilities at any time up until the end of an eviction trial. Landlords do not have the right to refuse to accept a late payment, even if the due date on a nonpayment notice has already passed.
Rent Increase Cap and New Eviction Laws
Read about a rent increase cap change for 2023 and new changes in state eviction processes effective October 1, 2022. This is a bilingual resource.
Security Deposit Guide for Oregon Renters
Your landlord must return your security deposit or provide a written accounting of why it was not returned. This guide will help you ensure your landlord returns your security deposit when you move out and provides steps to take if you have a dispute with a prior landlord about a security deposit. January 2018.
Security Deposit Guide for Portland Renters
Your landlord must return your security deposit or provide a written accounting of why it was not returned. This guide will help you ensure your landlord returns your security deposit when you move out and provides steps to take if you have a dispute with a prior landlord about a security deposit. Starting on March 1, 2020, renters in the City of Portland have additional protections under the City’s Rental Housing Security Deposit Ordinance. Read the PDF for more info.
Mold Guide for Tenants
How to respond to a mold issue in your rental housing. Fillable PDF with information, forms and letters.
Repair Guide for Tenants
Did something break in your apartment or rental house? Has an appliance not been working properly since you moved in? Are there issues with the plumbing? Have you noticed bugs, mice, or rats? You have the legal right to safe, decent housing.
Sample Letters to the Landlord
Samples of letters you can send to your landlord, including: getting repairs done, moving out, and requesting a return of your deposit. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Tenants' Rights and Bed Bugs
How to know if you have bed bugs in your rental space and what to do about it.
Additional Eviction Protections for Subsidized Renters - CARES Act
Renters who live in low-income housing, or who have a voucher that pays some or all of their rent, have additional protections against evictions for nonpayment of rent. For renters with low incomes who get government help paying their rent, landlords have to give at least 30 days’ notice in writing before filing an eviction in court.
Eviction - Going to Court
Information about what happens when your landlord takes you to court to evict you. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Eviction Notice Handout
How a landlord must give a termination (eviction) notice to a tenant and what kinds of notices may be given. Updated 3-30-23 to include changes due to Oregon's HB 2001.
How to Use a Form Answer in an Eviction
Examples of possible defenses to use on a form Answer in an eviction. A sample form Answer is included as a PDF attachment. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Rent Increase Cap and New Eviction Laws
Read about a rent increase cap change for 2023 and new changes in state eviction processes effective October 1, 2022. This is a bilingual resource.
Setting Aside a Default Judgment in an Eviction Case
Renters are required to show up (“appear”) at their eviction cases. If a renter doesn’t show up, the court will enter a default judgment against the renter if the landlord has followed all of the legal requirements for the eviction. If renters have a default judgment against them, the landlord can have the sheriff remove the renters. But if the default judgment got entered less than four days ago or the sheriff has not yet come to change the locks, there may still be time to ask the court to set aside the default judgment and reschedule the court date. This resource has an 8-page PDF packet with forms.
Some Renter Protections End After June 30, 2022
Since July 1, 2021, renters were able to pause evictions for nonpayment by giving their landlords written proof that they have applied for rent assistance. If the proof was given before the landlord filed a termination case, the landlord was not allowed to file an eviction case until the application no longer pending, or until October 1, 2022. If the proof was given after the landlord filed the eviction case, the court would pause the case until October 1, 2022, or the application was approved or denied. After June 30, 2022, providing proof of an application for rent assistance will not pause eviction proceedings.
Getting Your Things Back After You Move
Information about what happens if you leave things behind after you move. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Sample Letters to the Landlord
Samples of letters you can send to your landlord, including: getting repairs done, moving out, and requesting a return of your deposit. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
When the Tenant Moves Out
Information about giving notice and payment of rent when you move out. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Additional Eviction Protections for Subsidized Renters - CARES Act
Renters who live in low-income housing, or who have a voucher that pays some or all of their rent, have additional protections against evictions for nonpayment of rent. For renters with low incomes who get government help paying their rent, landlords have to give at least 30 days’ notice in writing before filing an eviction in court.
FAQ for Tenants After the Oregon Wildfires
Frequently Asked Questions for Tenants After the Oregon Wildfires.
Housing Rights For Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Survivors
Information regarding housing rights for domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking survivors.
Information for Renters Affected by Oregon Wildfires
If you rented an apartment, a house, or space for a manufactured home and your housing was affected by the wildfire, this information is for you. More information about how to get help is available at wildfire.oregon.gov.
Know Your Rights: Domestic Violence and Assisted Housing
Are you a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking? Do you live in public housing, Section 8 housing, or supportive housing for the elderly or disabled? A law called VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act, may help you.
Know Your Rights: Sexual Harassment and Housing
Have you experienced unwanted touching, unwanted sexual advances, sexual jokes, comments, or gestures in your rental housing? Fair housing laws may help you.
Moving Forward with a Past
A detailed guidebook on the fair housing rights of tenants who have past criminal justice involvement and are applying to housing.
Tenants' Rights in Foreclosure
Information about your rights when the residence you are renting goes into foreclosure.
Filing a Challenge to Garnishment and Exempt Wages, Money, & Property
Instructions on how to use a Challenge to Garnishment and a list of wages, funds, and property that are exempt from collection in Oregon, as of March 2016.
Information for Manufactured Housing Residents and Home Park Owners Affected by Oregon Wildfires
If you are a manufactured homeowner, either on land you own, or in a park, or you rented a manufactured home in a park and your housing was affected by the wildfire, this information is for you. This document also includes information for manufactured home park owners.
How to Serve (Deliver) Legal Papers in Oregon
The person who files a legal matter must make sure that notice of the case is “served” (or delivered to) the other side. This booklet tells you how, where, and when to do it, who can do it, and why.
Expungement of Eviction Records
Beginning May 19th, 2021, the State of Oregon has expanded eligibility to expunge records of some past evictions. Expungement means that the eviction record is erased. The court treats the eviction as if it never happened. When a prospective landlord searches the tenant’s eviction history, the expunged eviction should not show up. When a prospective landlord asks if an applicant has ever been evicted, the applicant can answer “no” if the eviction has been expunged.
Discrimination Against Tenants
The law protects tenants from some types of discrimination. Find out more here. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Hostile Living Environment
If a neighbor, on-site manager, maintenance worker or someone else on the property has used a racial slur against you, made you feel uncomfortable or unwelcome because of your gender, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, or disability, you can consult this packet for how to respond to discrimination.
New Tenant Screening and Criminal Background Protections for Tenants
A new state law regarding tenant application screenings and protections against discrimination on the basis of certain criminal history is in effect as of January 1st, 2022. Read the PDF for more information.
Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
Some basic questions and answers about Oregon's law affecting tenants and landlords. (An excerpt from the 2016 Landlord-Tenant Law in Oregon community education booklet.)
Housing Rights for Manufactured or Mobile Home Residents in Oregon
The booklet covers the rights of individuals who live in manufactured or floating homes which are owned by the resident, but which occupy space rented by the homeowner in a facility designated for that purpose. A “facility” is a place where four or more manufactured homes or floating homes are located.
What does expunging my criminal record in Oregon mean, and what do I do next?
Now that your Order to Set Aside ("Expungement Order") has been granted by a judge, what do you do next? The attached PDF will explain what it means to have an Expungement Order and gives you a form to help you update your information in the criminal record clearinghouse database.