Oregon Rent Increase Laws: The Landlord and Tenant Guide
Senate Bill 611 Cap · 90-Day Notice · No First-Year Increase · Exemptions · Retaliation Limits · Portland Relocation
Oregon is a statewide rent-cap state — the first in the nation. For most housing, three limits apply at once: a hard cap on how much rent can rise each year, a ban on any increase during a tenant’s first year, and a long 90-day written-notice rule, all under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323. The cap itself was tightened in 2023 by Senate Bill 611, so the number that governs today is not the one the original 2019 law produced. Get every piece right and your increase holds; miss one and the tenant can refuse the overage, the notice fails, and the defect can follow you into an eviction case.
The stakes are concrete. An increase that breaks the cap, the timing rule, or the notice rule is not merely risky — the statute makes a landlord liable to the tenant for an amount equal to three months’ rent plus actual damages, and an improper notice simply does not take effect, so the old rent continues. Because the inflation piece of the cap is recalculated every year and the Department of Administrative Services publishes a fresh maximum each fall, treat every figure in this guide as a starting point and verify the current number for the calendar year before you serve anything.
Below, a detailed overview video summarizes the Oregon framework; the sections that follow break down each piece — the Senate Bill 611 cap and how it is calculated, the 90-day notice rule, the first-year and once-a-year timing limits, when you may raise rent at all, the exemptions, retaliation and fair housing, the Portland relocation-assistance overlay, and a step-by-step landlord playbook — plus an Oregon-specific FAQ.
Oregon Rent Increase Rules at a Glance
Statewide Cap
Lower of 10% or 7% + West CPI (SB 611)
Notice Required
90 days written (7 days week-to-week)
First Year
No increase allowed
Frequency
Once per 12 months
The Senate Bill 611 Statewide Rent Cap
The centerpiece of Oregon rent-increase law is statewide rent stabilization, first enacted in 2019 and codified at Oregon Revised Statutes sections 90.323 and 90.324. Oregon was the first state in the country to cap rent increases statewide. In 2023, the Legislature tightened the cap with Senate Bill 611, which changed the formula and lowered the ceiling. For any property the law covers, the statute sets a hard limit on how much the rent can go up over a 12-month window — regardless of what the market would bear.
The “Lower of 10% or 7% + CPI” Formula
Since Senate Bill 611 took effect, the cap works as a “lower of” rule. Over a 12-month period, rent for a covered unit may not rise by more than the lower of two numbers: 10 percent, or 7 percent plus the annual 12-month average change in the West-Region Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, as published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. You take 7 percent, add the West-Region CPI figure, and compare the result to 10 percent; whichever is smaller is your maximum. In plain terms, the rule is “seven percent plus inflation, but never more than ten percent.” The 10 percent ceiling only bites in high-inflation years; when inflation is modest, 7 percent plus CPI lands below 10 percent and that lower number controls.
Senate Bill 611 replaced the old formula — do not use pre-2023 numbers
The original 2019 law set the cap at 7 percent plus CPI with no separate 10 percent ceiling, and it let a landlord exceed the cap in limited cases with 180 days’ notice. Senate Bill 611 changed both of those things in 2023: it added the hard 10 percent ceiling as the “lower of” comparison, and it removed the 180-day path to exceed the cap. Any guide, form, or older notice that still says “7 percent plus CPI” without the 10 percent ceiling, or that offers a 180-day over-the-cap increase, is out of date. Use the current Senate Bill 611 formula.
The Department of Administrative Services publishes the exact number each year
Because the CPI piece changes annually, Oregon law directs the Department of Administrative Services, through its Office of Economic Analysis, to calculate and post the maximum-allowable annual rent increase percentage by September 30 each year for the following calendar year. For 2025, that figure was 10.0 percent, because inflation was high enough that 7 percent plus CPI exceeded the ceiling. For 2026, the standard residential figure came in lower, at roughly 9.5 percent, because the West-Region CPI eased. Do not hard-code a number: look up the current maximum on the Department of Administrative Services website for the calendar year in which your increase takes effect, since it moves each year.
Takeaway
On covered housing, the Oregon cap is the lower of 10 percent, or 7 percent plus the West-Region CPI, under Senate Bill 611 and Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.324. The Department of Administrative Services publishes the exact figure each September for the next year — about 10 percent in 2025 and roughly 9.5 percent in 2026. Always pull the current published maximum before you set a number.
Notice: 90 Days for Any Lawful Increase
Even a perfectly-sized increase fails if you deliver it with the wrong notice. Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323 sets a single, long written-notice period, and it does not vary with the size of the increase the way some states do.
| Tenancy type | Minimum written notice | Timing limits |
|---|---|---|
| Month-to-month or other periodic | At least 90 days before the effective date | None in first year; once per 12 months after |
| Week-to-week | At least 7 days before the effective date | Not subject to the once-a-year or first-year limits |
| Fixed-term lease | Generally no increase until the term ends, unless the lease allows it | Cap and 90-day notice still apply to any permitted change |
The 90-day period is uniform: under Senate Bill 611 there is no longer a longer-notice route to raise rent above the cap, so the old “180 days for an increase above 10 percent” figure no longer applies. For a covered periodic tenancy after the first year, 90 days is the rule for any lawful increase. A week-to-week tenancy is the narrow exception, needing only 7 days’ notice and not bound by the once-a-year or first-year rules.
What a Proper Notice Contains and How to Serve It
A defensible Oregon rent-increase notice is in writing and states, at minimum: the amount of the rent increase, the new rent, the effective date, and — when the landlord is claiming an exemption from the cap — the facts supporting that exemption. A verbal announcement, a text message, or an email the tenant never agreed to accept as a delivery method is not proper service and does not start the 90-day clock. Serve it by a provable method — first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, personal delivery with a signed acknowledgment, or another method your lease and the statute allow — and keep a copy of both the notice and the proof of delivery.
The three-months’-rent penalty for a bad increase
Oregon does not leave enforcement to chance. A landlord who increases rent in violation of section 90.323 — above the cap, in the first year, more than once in 12 months, or without the required 90-day notice — is liable to the tenant for an amount equal to three months’ rent plus the tenant’s actual damages. On top of that, an improper notice simply does not take effect, so the prior rent continues until a valid notice is served. The cost of getting the notice wrong is real, which is why the paper trail matters.
Takeaway
Give at least 90 days’ written notice for any lawful increase on a periodic tenancy (7 days for week-to-week), under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323. The notice must state the increase amount, the new rent, and the effective date. There is no 180-day over-the-cap route anymore, and a violation exposes you to three months’ rent plus damages.
When You Can Raise the Rent at All
The cap and the notice rules only matter once you actually have the right to raise the rent. In Oregon that right is gated by two timing rules the statute imposes on top of the tenancy type.
No Increase in the First Year, Once a Year After
Under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323, a landlord may not raise the rent at all during the first year after a tenancy begins — whether the tenancy is a fixed-term lease or a month-to-month arrangement. After that first year, the landlord may raise the rent no more than once in any 12-month period, and only within the published cap. These two limits are Oregon-specific and catch many out-of-state owners off guard: a raise served ten months into a tenancy, or a second raise seven months after the first, is unlawful even if the dollar amount is modest. The one exception is a week-to-week tenancy, which is not bound by the first-year or once-a-year rules.
During a Fixed-Term Lease: Generally Locked
While a fixed-term lease is running, the rent is set at the agreed amount for the whole term. You cannot raise it mid-term unless the lease itself contains an explicit escalation clause that permits the change — and even then, the increase must still respect the Senate Bill 611 cap, the first-year bar, and the 90-day notice. Absent that clause, the tenant is entitled to the agreed rent through the end of the term.
At Renewal or on a Month-to-Month Tenancy
The two ordinary windows to raise rent are at lease renewal, when a new term begins, and during a month-to-month tenancy, where a landlord may change the rent going forward by serving the proper 90-day notice. On a month-to-month, the increase takes effect only after the full 90-day period runs; the tenant can accept the new rent and stay, or give proper notice and move out.
A first-year, second-in-a-year, or mid-term increase is void
Trying to raise rent in the first year, a second time within 12 months, or partway through a fixed-term lease with no escalation clause does not simply fail quietly — the increase is unenforceable, and a tenant who keeps paying the original rent is in the right. Do not treat a tenant’s silence as agreement. Wait for the first year to pass and the 12-month window to open, or for renewal, before adjusting the rent.
Takeaway
You may raise rent only after the first year, only once in any 12 months, and only with 90 days’ notice — never mid-term on a fixed lease unless the lease expressly allows it. Oregon’s first-year and once-a-year timing rules are as strict as the cap itself.
Exemptions From the Oregon Rent Cap
Not every Oregon rental is subject to the percentage cap. The statute carves out two main categories of housing — but the exemptions are narrow, they do not switch off the timing and notice rules, and getting one wrong means the cap applied all along.
| Exempt category | The catch |
|---|---|
| New construction (first 15 years) | Exempt only if the first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the notice date; a rolling date — the unit becomes covered once it passes 15 years old |
| Regulated or certified affordable housing | Exempt where the increase does not raise the tenant’s share of rent, or where it complies with the terms of the government affordable-housing program |
| Week-to-week tenancies | Not subject to the once-a-year or first-year timing rules, but need 7 days’ notice |
The Rolling 15-Year New-Construction Exemption
The most-used exemption is for newer buildings. A dwelling unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the date of the rent-increase notice is exempt from the percentage cap. But the date rolls forward every year: a building that was 14 years old and exempt becomes covered the year it turns 15. Recalculate annually against the certificate-of-occupancy date for the specific unit rather than assuming a one-time exemption sticks. And note what the exemption does not do — even an exempt new building is still bound by the first-year no-increase rule and the 90-day notice rule; only the percentage cap lifts.
Claiming an exemption changes the notice
When a landlord relies on an exemption to raise rent above the published maximum, the statute requires the increase notice to state the facts supporting the exemption — for example, that the first certificate of occupancy is less than 15 years old. A notice that exceeds the cap without stating a valid exemption basis is defective. If you are not certain the unit qualifies, treat it as covered and stay within the published maximum.
Takeaway
Exemptions are real but narrow. New construction is exempt from the cap only for its first 15 years on a rolling date, and certain subsidized housing is exempt on program terms — but the first-year bar and the 90-day notice still apply. When in doubt, assume covered and stay within the published maximum.
Retaliation and Fair Housing Limits
Two more limits apply on top of the cap and notice rules, and an increase that clears the numbers can still be unlawful if it trips either one.
A Rent Increase Cannot Be Retaliatory
Oregon law, at Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.385, prohibits a landlord from raising rent in retaliation for a tenant’s exercise of a legal right — for example, requesting a needed repair, reporting a habitability or building-code violation to a government agency, or joining or organizing a tenant association. When an increase follows shortly after protected activity, a retaliation claim can arise and the landlord may have to show a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason. The safest practice is to time increases to the ordinary schedule — the annual anniversary or a renewal — and to document the market and cost reasons behind the number.
It Cannot Discriminate Against a Protected Class
A rent increase also cannot be used to discriminate against a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act and Oregon’s own fair-housing law — race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability, plus the additional classes Oregon protects, including marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and source of income. Raising one tenant’s rent more steeply, or on a different schedule, because of a protected characteristic is unlawful even where the dollar figure is within the cap.
Consistency is your best defense
Increases applied evenly across comparable units on a regular schedule are far easier to defend than a one-off increase aimed at a single tenant. A selectively applied hike, or one that lands right after a complaint or repair request, invites both a retaliation claim and a fair-housing complaint — even when the dollar figure is within the cap. Set increases by an objective method and apply it the same way to every comparable unit.
Takeaway
An increase inside the cap is still unlawful if it is retaliatory under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.385 (soon after a repair request, code complaint, or tenant organizing) or discriminatory against a protected class. Apply increases consistently, on schedule, with a documented business reason.
Local Overlays: Portland Relocation Assistance
The statewide cap is a floor of tenant protection, not the whole picture. Oregon does not permit cities to set their own lower rent caps, but some localities layer on extra obligations that a landlord must satisfy even when the increase itself is within the state cap. The most significant is Portland’s mandatory relocation-assistance rule.
Portland’s Mandatory Relocation Assistance
Under Portland City Code, when a landlord issues a rent increase of 10 percent or more within a rolling 12-month period, a tenant who receives that notice may — by giving the landlord timely written notice back — require the landlord to pay mandatory relocation assistance. The same obligation attaches to a no-cause termination. The amount is set by the ordinance and varies by unit size, from a smaller sum for a studio up to a larger sum for a three-bedroom or bigger unit, and it is adjusted over time. A landlord who fails to pay when required can owe the tenant substantial additional damages, attorney fees, and costs.
Check the local rule before a large Portland increase
A rent increase can satisfy the statewide Senate Bill 611 cap and still trigger a payment obligation in Portland if it reaches 10 percent within a rolling 12 months. Because the state maximum has itself sat at or near 10 percent in recent years, a Portland landlord can approach the statewide ceiling and cross the relocation-assistance trigger at the same time. Confirm the current Portland Housing Bureau amounts and exemptions — some owner-occupied duplex and accessory-dwelling-unit situations are exempt — before issuing a large increase or a no-cause notice, and factor the payment into the decision.
Takeaway
Oregon bars local rent caps, but Portland requires relocation assistance when a rent increase reaches 10 percent within a rolling 12 months, or on a no-cause termination. The payment varies by unit size and the exemptions are narrow, so a Portland landlord must check the current ordinance before a large increase.
The Cap and Eviction Are Linked
The same 2019 law that capped rent also limited how a covered tenancy can end. After the first year of occupancy, an Oregon landlord generally cannot terminate a periodic tenancy without cause; a no-cause termination after the first year is restricted, and where it is allowed it often carries a relocation-assistance obligation. That matters for rent increases because the two protections are linked.
A landlord cannot use an oversized or improperly noticed rent increase as a back-door eviction of a covered tenant — if the increase is unlawful, the tenant may refuse the overage, and forcing the issue can run into both the cap and the termination rules. If you are weighing whether to raise rent sharply or end a tenancy, understand the eviction side first; see our guide to Oregon eviction notice laws and to Oregon lease termination laws for how notice and cause operate in practice.
Takeaway
The 2019 rent-stabilization law also limits no-cause termination after the first year. The rent cap and the termination rules are two halves of one framework — you cannot use an unlawful rent increase to force a covered tenant out.
The Oregon Landlord Playbook
Put the whole framework into a repeatable sequence and a rent increase becomes routine instead of risky. Follow these steps every time.
Confirm the timing gates first
Check that the tenancy has passed its first year and that you have not raised the rent in the past 12 months. For a fixed-term lease, confirm the term has ended or the lease has an escalation clause. A week-to-week tenancy follows its own shorter rules.
Look up the current maximum percentage
Pull the maximum-allowable annual rent increase percentage the Department of Administrative Services published for the calendar year in which the increase takes effect. Do not reuse last year’s figure — it changes each September.
Check for an exemption and any local overlay
If the building’s first certificate of occupancy is less than 15 years old, or the unit is regulated affordable housing, the cap may not apply — but state the exemption facts in the notice. In Portland, check whether a 10-percent-or-more increase triggers relocation assistance.
Serve the 90-day written notice
Use at least 90 days’ written notice (7 days for a week-to-week tenancy). State the amount of the increase, the new rent, and the effective date, and confirm the increase is not landing right after protected tenant activity.
Document everything
Keep a copy of the notice, the proof of delivery, the published maximum you relied on, and a note of the market and cost reasons behind the increase. Consistent, documented increases are the ones that hold up.
Need the notice itself?
A ready-to-fill notice keeps the required fields in place. See our free Oregon rent increase notice form, and our guide to Oregon late fee laws if you are adjusting late charges alongside the rent. Always tailor the numbers to your unit and verify current law.
Common Scenarios, Quickly Answered
✓ Usually Defensible
- Renewal increase within the cap. A 90-day written notice before renewal, sized at or under the current published maximum, after the first year.
- Month-to-month raise with 90 days’ notice. A single increase within the cap, once in the 12-month window, properly noticed.
- New-construction increase above the cap. A unit under 15 years old, with the exemption facts stated in the notice.
- Consistent annual adjustment. The same schedule applied across comparable units with documented reasons.
✕ Likely Unlawful
- Increase over the cap. Any raise above the published maximum on a covered unit with no valid exemption.
- First-year or second-in-a-year raise. Any increase in the first year, or a second increase within 12 months.
- Short or verbal notice. Fewer than 90 days, or a spoken or texted increase, on a periodic tenancy.
- Post-complaint increase. A raise issued soon after a repair request or code complaint — a retaliation risk.
Rent Increases Go Smoother With the Right Tenant
The tenants who fight every lawful increase are often the ones who show red flags on screening. Comprehensive credit, income, and eviction-history reports catch the mismatch before you ever sign a lease.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can a landlord raise the rent in Oregon?
For covered housing, Oregon caps the annual rent increase at the lower of 10 percent, or 7 percent plus the September 12-month average change in the West-Region Consumer Price Index. This is the formula Senate Bill 611 set in 2023, and the Department of Administrative Services publishes the exact maximum-allowable percentage each year by September 30. Whichever number is lower controls, so the 10 percent ceiling caps the figure in high-inflation years. Because the CPI portion changes annually, look up the current maximum on the Department of Administrative Services website for the calendar year before you set an increase rather than assuming a fixed number.
Can an Oregon landlord raise the rent in the first year of a tenancy?
No. Under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323, a landlord may not increase the rent during the first year after a tenancy begins, whether the tenancy is fixed-term or periodic. The only exception is a week-to-week tenancy, which follows its own shorter rules. After the first year, a landlord may raise the rent no more than once in any 12-month period, and only within the statewide cap. Verify the current rule before you act.
How much notice must an Oregon landlord give before raising rent?
For a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy after the first year, an Oregon landlord must give at least 90 days’ written notice before a rent increase takes effect, under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323. A week-to-week tenancy requires only 7 days’ notice. The notice must state the amount of the increase, the new rent, the effective date, and, when an exemption is claimed, the facts supporting it. A verbal announcement, a text, or an email the tenant never agreed to accept is not proper notice.
Is the notice period 180 days for a large Oregon rent increase?
No longer. Under the original 2019 rent-stabilization law a landlord could exceed the cap with 180 days’ notice, but Senate Bill 611 of 2023 removed that path. Today an increase above the maximum-allowable percentage is simply not permitted for covered housing, except where a specific exemption applies. The uniform notice period for any lawful increase after the first year is 90 days. Confirm current law before relying on any older 180-day figure.
Which Oregon properties are exempt from the rent cap?
Two main categories. First, a dwelling unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the date of the increase notice is exempt from the percentage cap; this is a rolling date, so the unit becomes covered once it passes 15 years old. Second, certain government-regulated or certified affordable housing is exempt where the increase does not raise the tenant’s share of rent or otherwise complies with the program. Even an exempt unit is still subject to the first-year no-increase rule and the 90-day notice rule. Verify the certificate-of-occupancy date and any program terms.
Can an Oregon landlord raise rent in the middle of a lease?
Generally no. During a fixed-term lease the rent is locked at the agreed amount for the whole term unless the lease itself contains an escalation clause that expressly permits a mid-term change, and any such increase must still respect the statewide cap and the notice rule. A landlord may raise rent at renewal, or during a month-to-month tenancy, by serving the proper 90-day written notice after the first year.
How often can an Oregon landlord raise the rent?
No more than once in any 12-month period for a periodic tenancy, and never during the first year of the tenancy, under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323. Each increase must stay within the maximum-allowable percentage the Department of Administrative Services publishes for that year, and must be delivered with at least 90 days’ written notice. A week-to-week tenancy is the one exception to the once-a-year limit.
Does Portland require relocation assistance for large rent increases?
Yes. Under Portland City Code, when a landlord issues a rent increase of 10 percent or more within a rolling 12-month period, a tenant may request mandatory relocation assistance, and the landlord must pay a set amount that varies by unit size. The rule also applies to no-cause terminations. Amounts and exemptions are set by the ordinance and change over time, so a landlord in Portland must check the current Portland Housing Bureau schedule before issuing a large increase or a no-cause notice. Other localities may have their own rules.
Can a rent increase be illegal even if it is under the Oregon cap?
Yes. A rent increase within the numeric cap can still be unlawful if it is retaliatory under Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.385, for example issued soon after the tenant requested a repair, reported a habitability or code violation, or joined a tenant organization, or if it discriminates against a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act and Oregon fair-housing law. Retaliation and fair-housing rules apply on top of the cap, not instead of it.
What happens if an Oregon landlord violates the rent-increase rules?
A landlord who raises rent in violation of Oregon Revised Statutes section 90.323, for example above the cap, in the first year, more than once in 12 months, or without the required 90-day notice, may be liable to the tenant for an amount equal to three months’ rent plus the tenant’s actual damages. An improper notice does not take effect, so the prior rent continues until a valid notice is served. Verify the current penalty and consult counsel before relying on any figure.
What is the safest way for a landlord to raise rent in Oregon?
Confirm the tenancy has passed its first year, look up the current maximum-allowable percentage on the Department of Administrative Services website, confirm you have not already raised the rent in the past 12 months, serve a clear written 90-day notice stating the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, avoid raising rent mid-term on a fixed lease or right after protected tenant activity, check any local rule such as Portland relocation assistance, and keep a copy of the notice and proof of delivery.
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