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):
- terminate your tenancy;
- fail to renew your tenancy;
- serve you a notice to terminate your tenancy; bring or threaten to bring an action for possession (eviction);
- increase your rent;
- decrease services; or
- 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, or stalking;
- there was a violation of your rental agreement that stemmed from an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking being committed against you; or
- there was criminal activity relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, 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 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)