What an Oregon residential lease agreement is for
Oregon was the first state to adopt statewide rent stabilization, and its landlord-tenant law has been tightened almost every session since. Rent cannot rise during the first year of a tenancy, increases are capped at a yearly percentage published by the state (9.5% for 2026), and each increase needs 90 days' written notice with specific contents. After the first year of occupancy, a landlord can end a tenancy only for the tenant's fault or one of four qualifying landlord reasons, usually with 90 days' notice and a relocation payment. The written rental agreement must also state a smoking policy and say whether the unit is in a 100-year floodplain.
This template is a full Oregon rental agreement written around those rules. It covers owner and manager disclosure, term, rent and late charges, rent increases, the deposit and permitted fees, utilities, the smoking and floodplain disclosures, use and pets, repairs, entry, insurance, fair housing, ending the tenancy, retaliation and attorney's fees, with a section for local rules. Schedules provide a condition report, the lead disclosure, a rent increase notice and a deposit accounting.
When to use it
Use it for a house, apartment, condo, townhouse or ADU anywhere in Oregon, on a fixed term or month to month. It works for small landlords with one or two units as well as larger owners, who will need to pay attention to the relocation payment requirement.
In Portland and other cities with their own ordinances, add the local requirements in Section 20. Manufactured dwelling and floating home spaces have their own rent caps and rules and need a different agreement.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Parties, premises and term
- Owner and manager disclosure
- Person for notices
- Tenants and occupants
- Premises
- Certificate of occupancy year
- Fixed term or month to month
-
Rent and late charges
- Monthly rent
- Fee-free payment method
- Late charge after the fourth day
- Late charge method
-
Rent increases
- No increase in the first year
- 90-day notice and contents
- One increase per 12 months
- DAS maximum
- New construction exemption
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Deposit, fees and utilities
- Deposit receipt
- No first-year increase
- 31-day accounting
- Deductions
- Permitted fees
- Utility billing explanation
-
Required disclosures
- Smoking policy
- 100-year floodplain disclosure
- Lead
- Immigration status protections
-
Use, repairs and entry
- Occupants
- Subletting
- Pets
- Habitability
- Tenant duties
- 24-hour entry
- Renter's insurance
-
Ending the tenancy
- Tenant's 30-day notice
- First-year landlord notice
- ORS 90.427 qualifying reasons
- Relocation payment
- 60-day sale notice
- Non-payment notices
- Domestic violence termination
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General and local rules
- Retaliation
- Attorney's fees
- No waiver
- Local requirements such as Portland
-
Schedules A to D
- Condition report
- Lead disclosure
- Notice of rent increase
- Deposit accounting
-
Landlord's Checklist
- 10 checks before signing
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to fill in the agreement
- Disclose the owner and manager. Give names and addresses for notices.
- Record the building's certificate of occupancy year. It decides whether the rent cap applies.
- Choose the term. Fixed term or month to month.
- Set rent and the late charge method. Charge it only after the fourth day.
- State the smoking policy and floodplain status.
- Take the deposit. Give a receipt and diarize the 31-day accounting.
- Explain any utility billing.
- Add local rules. Include Portland's or your city's requirements and any exemption.
- Sign and diarize. Note the end of the first year, when increase and termination rules change.
Example: an increase and a sale in Eugene
A fictional landlord, Willamette Grove Rentals LLC, which owns six units, rents a 1998 duplex unit in Eugene to Maya Brooks from March 1, 2025 at $1,600 a month.
First year: no increase until March 1, 2026. 2026 increase: notice delivered November 25, 2025 (at least 90 days ahead) raising rent 7% to $1,712 from March 1, 2026, within the 9.5% cap. Sale: in 2027 the owner accepts an offer from a buyer who will live in the unit. Because Maya has been there over a year, the landlord gives 90 days' notice with the reason and pays one month's rent ($1,712) as relocation assistance, or 60 days' notice with a payment of one month's rent under the 2025 amendment.
Oregon rules to know
- Rent increases (ORS 90.323). None in the first year; 90 days' notice; once per 12 months; DAS maximum (9.5% for 2026); 15-year exemption.
- Terminations after the first year (ORS 90.427). Tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason; 90 days' notice; relocation payment for landlords with more than four units.
- Deposits (ORS 90.300). No increase in the first year; written accounting within 31 days.
- Late charges (ORS 90.260). Only after the fourth day, in the methods the statute allows.
- Required content. Smoking policy (ORS 90.220), floodplain disclosure (ORS 90.228), owner and manager disclosure (ORS 90.305), utility billing explanation (ORS 90.315).
- Entry (ORS 90.322). 24 hours' notice.
- Immigration status (SB 599, 2025). No inquiries or harmful disclosures.
Mistakes Oregon landlords make
Oregon landlords most often get into trouble by applying old rules to new law. A rent increase delivered 60 days ahead, or during the first year, or above the published cap, can cost three months' rent plus damages. A no-cause notice after the first year of occupancy is invalid, and failing to pay relocation assistance where it is owed carries its own penalty. Leases often omit the smoking policy or the floodplain disclosure entirely, and late charges are charged on the 2nd or 3rd of the month. The rent increase notice, termination section and checklist in this agreement are designed to prevent each of these.
Frequently asked questions
How much can a landlord raise rent in Oregon in 2026?
For most covered tenancies, no more than 9.5% in 2026, the maximum published by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, and only once in any 12-month period. Rent cannot be raised during the first year of a tenancy, and buildings whose first certificate of occupancy is less than 15 years old are exempt. DAS has announced 10% for 2027.
How much notice is required for a rent increase in Oregon?
At least 90 days' written notice, stating the amount of the increase, the new rent, the effective date and, if the landlord claims an exemption from the cap, the facts supporting it (ORS 90.323).
Can an Oregon landlord end a lease without cause?
Only during the first year of occupancy. After that, ORS 90.427 requires a tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason, such as demolition, major renovation, the owner or family moving in, or a sale to an owner-occupant, with 90 days' notice and, for landlords with more than four units, a relocation payment of one month's rent.
How long does an Oregon landlord have to return a security deposit?
Thirty-one days after the tenancy ends and the tenant gives up possession, with a written accounting of any amounts kept (ORS 90.300).
What disclosures must an Oregon rental agreement include?
The owner's and manager's names and addresses, the property's smoking policy, whether the unit is in a 100-year floodplain, how any utility charges are billed, and the lead disclosure for pre-1978 housing.
