Oregon Security Deposit Laws: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do
Oregon sets no statewide deposit cap but requires a written accounting within thirty-one days, and a wrongful withholding can cost twice the deposit. Here is how to handle a deposit legally in 2026.
Handling a security deposit in Oregon is governed by three things: how much you may collect, how long you have to return it, and what you may deduct. Get the deadline and the itemized statement right and a deposit is routine; miss them and the penalty is often double or triple the amount you kept.
This guide covers the Oregon deposit cap, the return deadline, the deductions the law allows, the interest and holding rules, and the penalty for getting it wrong. If you are taking a deposit from a new applicant, our overview of how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the rules below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of Oregon security deposit rules – the limit, the return deadline, lawful deductions, and the penalty for getting it wrong.
Key Takeaways: Oregon Security Deposit Laws
- No statewide deposit cap, though Portland limits deposits to about one month’s rent in many cases.
- Return within thirty-one days of the tenancy ending and possession being delivered, with a written accounting stating the basis of any deduction.
- No interest or escrow is required at the state level, though holding the deposit separately is good practice.
- Bad-faith withholding costs up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld under ORS 90.300.
Is There a Security Deposit Cap in Oregon?
Oregon does not set a statewide dollar cap on a security deposit, so the amount is largely up to the landlord – but local rules can apply. The city of Portland limits deposits: where the landlord does not also collect last month’s rent, the security deposit generally may not exceed one month’s rent.
Because there is no statewide ceiling, the discipline in Oregon comes from the return process under Oregon Revised Statute 90.300 – the thirty-one-day deadline and the written accounting – rather than from a cap. Confirm any local limit, then set the deposit and state the amount in the lease. Our overview of how to screen tenants step by step is a useful companion when you take a deposit from a new tenant.
The Deposit Return Deadline in Oregon
Oregon gives the landlord thirty-one days. Under ORS 90.300, within thirty-one days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession, the landlord must give the tenant a written accounting that states specifically the basis of any claim against the deposit, along with any refund due.
Thirty-one days runs from the end of the tenancy and the return of possession, so document the unit’s condition at move-out and prepare the written accounting promptly. A claim that is not stated specifically in that accounting is not a valid deduction. Our deeper look at Oregon eviction notice laws covers the move-out and possession mechanics that start the deposit clock.
What You Can Lawfully Deduct
A security deposit secures the landlord against specific losses, not against the ordinary passage of time. In Oregon you may deduct for unpaid rent, for unpaid utilities the lease makes the tenant’s responsibility, and for the cost of repairing damage beyond ordinary wear and tear. Those are the categories the law recognizes; anything outside them invites a dispute.
The line that matters most is damage versus wear and tear. A cracked window, a pet-stained carpet, or a hole punched in a wall is damage you can charge for. Faded paint, lightly worn carpet, and small nail holes are wear and tear, and charging for them is the single most common reason a Oregon deposit deduction is challenged and reversed. When in doubt, ask whether the condition came from use or from abuse.
Itemizing Deductions in Oregon
A Oregon deduction is only as good as the written statement that supports it. When you keep any part of a deposit you must give the tenant an itemized list that names each deduction and its amount, delivered within the return deadline. A lump-sum figure with no breakdown does not satisfy the law and is treated as if no statement was given.
Tie each line on that statement to evidence: a dated move-in and move-out photo, a signed condition checklist, and the invoice or estimate for the repair. Our guide to Oregon habitability laws explains the maintenance baseline that separates a landlord’s own upkeep duty from damage you may charge to the tenant.
Interest and Holding the Deposit in Oregon
Oregon does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit, and it does not require the deposit to be held in a separate escrow account at the state level. The money is yours to hold during the tenancy, subject to the obligation to account for it within thirty-one days.
Even without an interest or escrow mandate, holding the deposit separately from operating cash keeps the thirty-one-day accounting clean and gives you a clear record if a tenant later disputes how the money was handled.
Penalties for Wrongfully Withholding a Deposit in Oregon
An Oregon landlord who fails to account for the deposit on time, or who withholds it wrongfully, faces a doubled penalty. Under ORS 90.300, a landlord who in bad faith fails to provide the written accounting or to return the deposit within thirty-one days is liable for up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Because that doubled exposure attaches to missing the thirty-one days or failing to state the basis of a deduction, a landlord with a reasonable deduction can still lose by being late or by giving a vague accounting instead of a specific one. The pattern is consistent: the penalty is rarely about the deduction itself and almost always about missing the deadline or skipping the itemized statement.
Security Deposits and Fair Housing in Oregon
How you set and handle a deposit is governed by fair housing law just as screening is. Charging a higher deposit, or applying a stricter deduction standard, to a tenant because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability is housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act, which applies in Oregon regardless of the state’s own deposit rules.
The safeguard is a uniform policy: one deposit amount within the legal cap, one condition standard, and one return process applied to every tenant alike. For the federal baseline on protected characteristics, see our Fair Housing Act guide for landlords, and apply the same even-handed discipline to deposits that you apply to screening.
Screening Before You Take a Deposit
A security deposit is a backstop, not a substitute for screening. A deposit of one or two months’ rent rarely covers the cost of unpaid rent plus damage plus an eviction, so the better protection is renting to a qualified tenant in the first place. The deposit then handles the smaller, ordinary losses it was meant for.
Screen every applicant to the same standard: get written consent, pull a consumer report for a permissible purpose under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, and send an adverse action notice if the report drives a denial. Our Oregon tenant screening laws page and the broader tenant screening laws by state guide cover the screening half of the picture, whether you are renting in Oregon or anywhere else.
A Compliant Oregon Deposit Process
Turn the rules into one repeatable sequence. First, set the deposit within any Oregon cap and put the amount in the lease. Second, document the unit’s condition at move-in with dated photos and a signed checklist. Third, hold the deposit as the state requires and track any interest it must earn. Fourth, at move-out, inspect against the move-in record and separate damage from ordinary wear. Fifth, within the return deadline, send the itemized statement and any refund to the tenant’s forwarding address by a method you can prove.
Handled this way, a deposit in Oregon is routine. The same discipline that keeps screening defensible – objective standards, applied uniformly, documented at every step – keeps a deposit return defensible too, and it is the documentation, not the deduction, that decides a dispute.
Common Mistakes That Create Liability
The recurring Oregon errors are missing the return deadline, withholding without an itemized written statement, charging the tenant for ordinary wear and tear or routine cleaning, collecting more than the legal cap where one applies, and – where the state requires it – failing to hold the deposit separately or pay the interest it must earn. Almost every one is procedural, which is why the penalty so often attaches even when the underlying deduction was reasonable.
The deadline is the deduction. In Oregon the doubled or trebled penalty usually turns on missing the return deadline or skipping the itemized statement, not on the size of the deduction. Calendar the deadline the day the tenant moves out and send a written, itemized accounting every time.
Documentation and Recordkeeping in Oregon
Because Oregon ties the deposit to a deadline and an itemized statement, your records are what prove you complied. Keep the signed lease showing the deposit amount, the dated move-in and move-out condition photos, the signed checklist, the itemized statement, the repair invoices behind each deduction, and proof of how and when you delivered the statement and refund. That file is the answer to a tenant who claims the deposit was kept without basis.
Keep the holding record too – the account where the deposit sat and any interest it earned – so you can show the money was handled as the law requires. If a tenant alleges a wrongful or late return, that complete record of condition, deductions, and delivery is your strongest rebuttal.
Set one retention policy and apply it to every tenant and every deposit. A consistent multi-year record of condition evidence, itemized statements, and delivery proof gives you the evidence to answer a deposit dispute or a fair housing inquiry. Our guide to verifying tenant income rounds out the financial side of managing a tenancy in Oregon.
Do
- ✓Return the deposit with a written itemized statement within the deadline the state requires.
- ✓Deduct only for unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, never for normal aging.
- ✓Document the unit’s condition at move-in and move-out with dated photos and a signed checklist.
- ✓Keep the deposit separate from your own funds where the state requires it, and pay any required interest.
- ✓Send the statement and any refund to the tenant’s forwarding address by a method you can prove.
Avoid
- ✕Miss the return deadline – that is what triggers the doubled or trebled penalty in most states.
- ✕Charge the tenant for ordinary wear and tear, repainting, or routine cleaning dressed up as damage.
- ✕Collect a deposit larger than the state’s cap where one applies.
- ✕Withhold the deposit without a written, itemized accounting of every deduction.
- ✕Commingle the deposit with operating cash in a state that requires it held separately.
Oregon Security Deposit Laws: FAQ
Is there a security deposit limit in Oregon?
Not statewide. Oregon sets no statewide cap, though local rules can apply – Portland generally limits the deposit to about one month’s rent where last month’s rent is not also collected.
How long does an Oregon landlord have to return a deposit?
Thirty-one days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession. The landlord must provide a written accounting stating the basis of any deduction.
What can an Oregon landlord deduct from a deposit?
Unpaid rent and the cost of repairing damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, with each deduction stated specifically in the written accounting. Normal wear and tear may not be charged.
Does Oregon require interest on a security deposit?
No. Oregon does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit or to hold it in a separate escrow account at the state level.
What happens if an Oregon landlord wrongfully withholds a deposit?
Under ORS 90.300, a landlord who in bad faith fails to account for or return the deposit within thirty-one days is liable for up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Does Portland limit security deposits?
Yes. Portland’s city code limits deposits – where the landlord does not also collect last month’s rent, the security deposit generally may not exceed one month’s rent.
Does an Oregon deposit deduction have to be itemized?
Yes. ORS 90.300 requires a written accounting that states specifically the basis of each claim; a vague or lump-sum statement is not a valid deduction.
Can an Oregon landlord keep a deposit for normal wear and tear?
No. A landlord may deduct for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear but not for normal aging such as faded paint, lightly worn carpet, or small nail holes.
How long does a Oregon landlord have to return a security deposit?
A Oregon landlord must return the deposit, with a written itemized statement of any deductions, within the deadline the state sets after the tenancy ends and the tenant provides a forwarding address. Missing that deadline is where most deposit liability comes from, so calendar it the day the tenant moves out.
Can a Oregon landlord keep a security deposit for normal wear and tear?
No. A Oregon landlord may deduct for unpaid rent and for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, but not for the ordinary aging of the unit – faded paint, worn carpet, or small nail holes. Charging a tenant for normal wear is the most common deduction dispute.
Related Oregon Security Deposit and Rental Guides
- Security deposit laws by state – compare Oregon to the rest of the country.
- Oregon rent increase laws – notice periods and the limits on raising rent.
- Oregon late fee laws – what you can charge for late rent.
- Oregon eviction notice laws – notice periods and the eviction timeline.
- Oregon habitability laws – your maintenance obligations as a landlord.
- Tenant screening laws by state – screen the tenant before you take a deposit.
- Oregon tenant screening laws – what you can check before renting.
Screen Oregon Tenants Before You Take a Deposit
A deposit only covers so much. Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports and rent to a tenant you trust in Oregon.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Oregon and federal laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any screening, fee, deposit, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in Oregon. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
