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Legal Information: Oregon

Oregon Housing Laws

Laws current as of
December 5, 2023

Oregon’s housing laws protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. You can be let out of your lease early, get your locks changed, and/or the abuser’s tenancy can be terminated. Also, the landlord cannot discriminate against you based on the fact that you are a victim by refusing to rent to you or by terminating your lease due to police activity at your home after an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

If I am a victim, can I be let out of my lease early?

If you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime, or stalking, you can give your landlord written notice that you and any immediate family member need to be released from your rental agreement (lease). This law applies to you if:

  • you are protected by an order of protection; or
  • you were the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime or stalking within the 90 days preceding the date of the notice. The 90-day period does not include any days that the abuser was incarcerated or was living more than 100 miles from your home.1

There are very specific documents that you have to provide to your landlord under this law. To read more about the specific documents that you need to send your landlord, please read section 90.453 on our Selected Oregon Statutes page.

Note: If you (and your immediate family members) are released from your rental agreement, this does not necessarily affect other tenants in the home. If there are any remaining tenants, the tenancy will continue for those tenants.2

1 OR ST § 90.453(2)
2 OR ST § 90.456

If I stay in my apartment, can I get my locks changed?

If you choose not to leave the apartment, you can let the landlord know that you are a victim and ask the landlord to change your locks (at your expense). The landlord must quickly change the locks or give you permission to change them as long as you give the landlord a copy of the new key. You do not have to provide verification of the abuse.1 To read more about this law, see section 90.459 on our Selected Oregon Statutes page.

1 OR ST § 90.459

Can a landlord refuse to renew my lease or evict me because I am a victim? What if the police have been called to my home due to the abuse?

You cannot be discriminated against in any way for being a victim. Your landlord cannot do any of the following based on the fact that you are a victim (however, s/he can do these things for other reasons):

  1. terminate your tenancy;
  2. fail to renew your tenancy;
  3. serve you a notice to terminate your tenancy; bring or threaten to bring an action for possession (eviction);
  4. increase your rent;
  5. decrease services; or
  6. refuse to enter into a rental agreement with you.1

Specifically, your landlord cannot take any of the six actions listed above if any of the following apply to your situation:

  • you are/were a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime, or stalking;
  • there was a violation of your rental agreement that stemmed from an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime, or stalking being committed against you; or
  • there was criminal activity relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime, or stalking against you and/or the police or other emergency response personnel came to your apartment based on an incident in which you were abused, sexually assaulted, victimized in a bias crime or stalked.1

There are more related protections that we do not mention here. To read the additional protections and the penalties for a landlord who violates this law, please read section 90.449 on our Selected Oregon Statutes page.

1 OR ST § 90.449(1)

Is it possible for me to stay on the lease but the abuser's tenancy rights would be terminated?

The landlord can terminate the abuser’s tenancy rights under the lease if you and the abuser are co-tenants and still keep you as the remaining tenant on the lease. Specifically, the law says that if one tenant commits a criminal act of physical violence related to domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime, or stalking against another tenant, the landlord can terminate the rental agreement of the perpetrating tenant by giving him/her 24 hours’ written notice. However, the landlord cannot terminate the rental agreement of the other tenant(s) based on the incident.1 If there are any remaining tenants, the tenancy will continue for those tenants.2

There are more related protections as well that we do not mention here. To read the additional protections and the penalties for a landlord who violates this law, please read section 90.445 on our Selected Oregon Statutes page.

1 OR ST § 90.445(1)(a)
2 OR ST § 90.456