City of Portland Adds New Protections for Renters

The City of Portland has just enacted new protections for tenants living within the city limits.

Here is what Portland tenants need to know:

Beginning in November, if a landlord wants to terminate a month-to-month tenancy without stated cause, that landlord must give the tenant written notice of the termination at least 90 days before the termination date. In the rest of Oregon, tenants are only entitled to 30 days advanced notice, or 60 days if they have lived in their home for more than a year.

Important note: this does not apply to tenants who share a dwelling unit with their landlords.

Also beginning in November, if a landlord wants to raise a tenant’s rent by more than 5% in a 12-month period, the landlord must give the tenant written notice at least 90 days before the rent increase takes effect.

If you are a Portland tenant, and your landlord violates these new rules, your landlord will owe you an amount up to three months’ rent, plus your actual damages, reasonable attorney fees and costs.

The specific text of the new ordinance can be found here: http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?c=50265&a=548233