Oregon Eviction Notice Laws: The Landlord and Tenant Guide
10 and 13-Day Nonpayment · 30-Day Cure · Statewide Just Cause · 90-Day Landlord-Reason Termination · Relocation · Service Rules
In Oregon, the eviction notice is step one, and a defective or mistimed notice sinks the whole case. Before a landlord can file in circuit court, the law requires the right written notice, delivered the right way, for the right number of days — and, uniquely, Oregon is a statewide just-cause state. Since Senate Bill 608 took effect in 2019, a landlord generally cannot end a tenancy of more than twelve months without a qualifying reason, ninety days’ notice, and, for most landlords, one month of relocation assistance. Choose the wrong notice, serve a nonpayment notice too early, skip the just-cause rules, or miss the relocation payment, and a tenant can defeat the entire forcible entry and detainer action. This guide walks the whole Oregon framework end to end, with every rule tied to a concrete action.
The stakes are practical. Oregon courts enforce the notice statutes closely: a nonpayment notice served before rent is legally late, a just-cause termination missing its qualifying reason, or a mailed notice that did not add the extra three days can each be enough to lose. Because Oregon’s rules have changed significantly in recent years — statewide just cause arrived with Senate Bill 608 in 2019, and Senate Bill 611 in 2023 tightened the separate rent-increase cap — treat every figure here as a starting point and verify the current statute before you serve or file anything.
Below, an overview video summarizes the Oregon framework; the sections that follow break down each piece — the notice types and their day-counts, the statewide just-cause requirement and relocation assistance, service methods, what makes a notice valid, the forcible entry and detainer lawsuit, retaliation and tenant defenses, local rules, a landlord playbook, and defensible-versus-fatal scenarios — plus an Oregon-specific FAQ.
Oregon Eviction Notices at a Glance
Nonpayment
10-day (or 13-day) pay or quit
Lease Breach
30-day cure; 10-day repeat, no cure
First-Year No-Cause
30-day notice allowed
After Year One
Just cause; 90-day landlord reason + relocation
The Notice Is Step One — and It Can Sink the Case
Every Oregon eviction begins with a written notice, and that notice is the single most common point of failure. Oregon’s eviction statutes are specific about which notice fits which ground, how many days it must give, and — for nonpayment — how late the rent must already be before the notice can even be served. A notice that names the wrong ground, gives the wrong number of days, is served too early, or omits a required element gives the tenant a clean defense: the court can dismiss the case, and the landlord has to start over from a fresh, correctly timed notice, losing weeks.
This is why the notice deserves more care than any other step. The rest of the process — filing the forcible entry and detainer complaint, the first appearance, any trial, the writ — is largely mechanical once the notice is right. Get the notice wrong and none of it matters. Throughout this guide, the theme repeats: the exactness and the timing of the notice decide the case long before a judge ever reads the complaint.
A nonpayment notice served too early is void
Oregon is unusual in that a landlord cannot serve a nonpayment notice the moment rent is missed. Under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.394, a 10-day notice may not be delivered before the eighth day of the rental period, and a 13-day notice may not be delivered before the fifth day. Serve either notice too soon and it is invalid, even if the rent is genuinely unpaid. Count from the first day rent is due, wait the full period, and only then deliver the notice.
Takeaway
In Oregon the notice is step one and the whole case rides on it. Courts expect the right notice, the right days, and the right timing — especially the rule that a nonpayment notice cannot be served before rent is legally late. A defective or premature notice is a complete defense that forces the landlord to start over.
The Oregon Eviction Notice Types
Oregon recognizes a handful of distinct termination notices, and using the wrong one is itself a fatal defect. Which notice applies depends on why the landlord wants the tenant out and, after the first year, on the statewide just-cause rules. The nonpayment notices come from Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.394; the for-cause lease-violation notices come from section 90.392; the no-cause and qualifying-landlord-reason terminations come from section 90.427.
10-Day and 13-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit (Nonpayment)
When a tenant is behind on rent, the landlord serves a notice to pay rent or quit under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.394. Oregon gives the landlord two options. A 10-day notice may be delivered no sooner than the eighth day of the rental period, meaning rent must already be at least eight days late. A 13-day notice may be delivered no sooner than the fifth day, meaning rent must be at least five days late. Either notice must state the exact amount of rent due and the date and time by which the tenant must pay to cure the nonpayment. If the tenant pays the full amount within the notice period, the tenancy continues and the landlord cannot proceed. A separate, shorter 72-hour notice applies only to week-to-week tenancies, and it cannot be delivered before the fifth day of the rental period.
30-Day Notice for Cause (Curable Lease Violation)
When a tenant materially violates the rental agreement in a way that can be fixed — an unauthorized pet, an unapproved occupant, a repeated noise or parking violation the tenant can stop — the landlord serves a 30-day for-cause notice under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.392. The notice must describe the violation specifically, and it must give the tenant at least 14 days from delivery to cure the problem. If the tenant cures within that window, the tenancy continues and the termination does not take effect. The 30-day period sets the outer termination date; the 14-day cure window sits inside it.
10-Day Repeat-Violation Notice (No Cure)
Oregon treats a second, similar breach differently. If the tenant commits a substantially similar violation within six months of the first for-cause notice, the landlord may serve a 10-day notice with no right to cure under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.392(5). Because the repeat conduct shows the first cure did not hold, the tenant’s only option is to leave. This is a powerful tool, but it applies only to a genuinely similar repeat violation within the six-month window; an unrelated new problem starts over with a fresh 30-day cure notice.
First-Year No-Cause Termination: 30-Day Notice
During the first twelve months of a tenant’s occupancy, Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.427 allows a landlord to end a month-to-month tenancy with a 30-day written no-cause notice — no stated reason, no relocation payment. This is the one window in which a bare no-cause removal is available. It closes the moment the tenant has occupied the unit for more than one year, after which statewide just cause takes over. A landlord who wants a no-cause exit should serve the 30-day notice while the tenancy is still under a year.
After Year One: 90-Day Qualifying-Landlord-Reason Termination
Once a tenant has lived in the unit for more than twelve months, a no-cause removal is no longer available. To end the tenancy without tenant fault, the landlord must use one of the four qualifying landlord reasons, give a 90-day notice, and, for most landlords, pay one month of relocation assistance. This is the heart of Oregon’s statewide just-cause system, discussed in detail below.
Takeaway
The notice type follows the reason and the tenancy’s length: 10 or 13-day pay-or-quit for nonpayment, 30-day cure for a fixable breach (10-day, no cure for a repeat within six months), a 30-day no-cause notice only in the first year, and a 90-day qualifying-reason termination with relocation after year one. Using the wrong notice for the situation is itself a fatal defect.
How Many Days Each Notice Requires
The day-count is where landlords most often trip — and in Oregon the trickiest part is not just how many days a notice gives, but how many days late the rent must already be before a nonpayment notice can be served at all. Use this table as the quick reference, then read the notes below it.
| Notice | Days required / earliest service | Statute and grounds |
|---|---|---|
| Pay or quit (10-day) | 10 days; not before the 8th day of the rental period | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.394 — nonpayment of rent |
| Pay or quit (13-day) | 13 days; not before the 5th day of the rental period | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.394 — nonpayment of rent |
| Pay or quit (week-to-week) | 72 hours; not before the 5th day of the rental period | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.394 — week-to-week nonpayment |
| For-cause cure | 30 days, with at least 14 days to cure | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.392 — curable material violation |
| Repeat violation | 10 days, no right to cure | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.392(5) — similar breach within 6 months |
| No-cause (first year) | 30 days | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.427 — within first 12 months |
| Qualifying landlord reason | 90 days, plus one month relocation for most landlords | Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.427 — after 12 months (Senate Bill 608) |
Rent must be late enough before you serve
The most Oregon-specific trap is timing the nonpayment notice. A 10-day notice cannot be delivered before the eighth day of the rental period, and a 13-day notice cannot be delivered before the fifth day. Serving on day two or day three, even for genuinely unpaid rent, produces a void notice. Count from the first day the rent was due, confirm the rent is still unpaid on the earliest allowed day, and only then deliver the notice.
Add three days when you serve by mail
If the landlord serves a notice by first class mail alone, Oregon adds three days to the notice period to account for the mailing. A 10-day nonpayment notice mailed to the tenant effectively runs 13 days before the landlord may act, and a 30-day for-cause notice mailed runs 33. Build in that cushion, or deliver personally to avoid it, so the period is unquestionably satisfied before you file.
Takeaway
Nonpayment is a 10-day or 13-day pay-or-quit, but it cannot be served until rent is late enough — the eighth or fifth day of the rental period. A curable breach is 30 days with a 14-day cure; a repeat within six months is 10 days, no cure. After year one, the qualifying-reason termination is 90 days. Mail service adds three days, and filing before the period runs is fatal.
Statewide Just Cause Under Senate Bill 608
Oregon is distinctive: since Senate Bill 608 took effect in 2019, it has been a statewide just-cause state — the first in the nation. Codified in Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.427, the law provides that once a tenant has occupied a dwelling for more than twelve months, a landlord may not terminate the tenancy without a legally recognized cause. This overrides the older, pre-2019 idea that a landlord could end a month-to-month tenancy for no reason at any time. That is now true only during the first year.
Tenant-Based Cause Versus Qualifying Landlord Reasons
After the first year, section 90.427 divides valid terminations into two families. Tenant-based cause covers the tenant’s own conduct — nonpayment of rent under section 90.394 or a material lease violation under section 90.392 — and runs through the matching nonpayment or for-cause notices described above. Qualifying landlord reasons cover reasons unrelated to the tenant’s behavior, and Oregon recognizes exactly four:
- Owner or family move-in. The landlord or a member of the landlord’s immediate family intends to occupy the unit as a primary residence.
- Sale to an occupying buyer. The landlord has accepted an offer to purchase from a buyer who intends in good faith to occupy the unit as a primary residence.
- Demolition or conversion. The landlord intends to demolish the unit or convert it to a use other than residential.
- Major repairs or renovations. The landlord intends repairs or renovations that make the unit unsafe or unfit to occupy during the work.
Two content requirements that sink notices, and one uncodified 2026 right
ORS 90.391 requires that a notice of termination of tenancy under any provision of chapter 90 include the information required by ORS 408.515 — a statement that a veteran recipient may be able to get help from a county veterans’ service officer or community action agency, plus contact information for both, or a statement that it can be obtained by calling a 2-1-1 service. It applies to every termination notice on this page, not just some of them.
For nonpayment there is a second requirement with a mandatory sanction. ORS 90.395(2) requires the landlord to deliver a copy of the notice the Judicial Department posts under ORS 105.136 — the rental assistance and support services notice — with any notice of termination for nonpayment and with any summons for a possession claim based on nonpayment. Under ORS 90.395(3) the court shall enter a judgment dismissing the complaint if the landlord failed to deliver it. That is not a discretionary defect; it ends the case.
And a right that appears in no ORS section: section 2 of chapter 115, Oregon Laws 2025 (House Bill 2134), effective 1 January 2026, was added to ORS 90.100 to 90.465 without a number of its own. Where a landlord gives a tenant on a fixed term a notice under section 90.427(5) terminating the agreement on or after the expiration of the fixed term, the tenant may answer with the tenant’s own written notice ending the agreement on a date at least 30 days out — and that notice may end the tenancy during the fixed term. The landlord may then collect neither the section 90.302(2)(e) early-termination fee nor any unpaid rent accruing after the later of the designated date and the tenant’s return of possession. Section 3 of the act limits it to fixed term rental agreements entered into on or after 1 January 2026.
The 90-Day Notice and One-Month Relocation Assistance
A qualifying-landlord-reason termination is not just a matter of stating the reason. The landlord must give a 90-day written notice, state the qualifying reason, and — for most landlords — pay the tenant relocation assistance equal to one month of the tenant’s rent. The relocation payment is a condition of a valid termination for covered landlords; skip it and the termination can be void. There is an important small-landlord exemption: a landlord who has an ownership interest in four or fewer residential dwelling units is not required to pay the one-month relocation amount, though that landlord must still give the 90-day notice and state a qualifying reason.
The first year is the main no-cause window — but two routes survive it
During the first year of occupancy, section 90.427(3)(b) lets a landlord end a month-to-month tenancy with a 30-day no-cause notice and no relocation payment. “First year of occupancy” is defined in section 90.427(1)(a) to include all periods in which any of the tenants has resided in the unit for one year or less, so a new co-tenant does not restart it. After that, two routes survive that a flat “no no-cause after year one” summary drops. First, section 90.427(7): a fixed term does not roll into a month-to-month tenancy if the landlord gives at least 90 days’ notice before the stated end date and the tenant has committed three or more rental-agreement violations in the preceding twelve months, each of which drew a written warning notice at the time stating that a third violation could end the tenancy and that correcting it is not a defence. Second, section 90.427(8): where the unit is in the same building or on the same property as the landlord’s primary residence and that building or property contains not more than two dwelling units, the landlord may after the first year still end a month-to-month tenancy without cause on 60 days’ notice, or on 30 days’ notice where the landlord has accepted an offer from a good-faith owner-occupier and serves written evidence with the notice, and may end a fixed term without cause on 30 days’ notice before the stated ending date. Neither route carries the one-month relocation payment.
One more branch inside the qualifying reasons: the sale to an occupying buyer ground alone may be run on 60 days’ notice rather than 90, but only if the landlord pays the tenant one month’s periodic rent at the time of the notice, in addition to any relocation payment owed under section 90.427(6)(a)(B).
Takeaway
Under Senate Bill 608 (Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.427), Oregon is a statewide just-cause state: after twelve months, a landlord needs tenant-based cause or one of four qualifying landlord reasons, a 90-day notice, and, for most landlords, one month of relocation assistance. Only in the first year is a 30-day no-cause notice allowed. Landlords with four or fewer units are exempt from the relocation payment, not the notice.
How to Serve a Notice in Oregon
A notice that is written perfectly still fails if it is served the wrong way. Oregon lets a landlord deliver a termination notice by personal delivery to the tenant, by first class mail, or — when the rental agreement expressly allows it — by a combined attach-and-mail method that affixes a copy to the main entrance of the dwelling and mails a copy. A landlord must use an authorized method; there is no valid “just email it” or “just text it” option.
| Method | How it works | Timing note |
|---|---|---|
| Personal delivery | Hand the notice directly to the tenant | Cleanest proof; no added days |
| First class mail | Mail a copy to the tenant at the premises | Add three days to the notice period for mailing |
| Attach and mail | Affix a copy to the main entrance AND mail a copy — only if the rental agreement authorizes it | Follow the agreement’s terms; keep a dated record |
The method matters to the calendar. When a notice is served by fir