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An Overview of Different Types of Eviction Notices

How to Respond if You Receive a Notice

WHAT IS A NOTICE?

A notice is basically the warning the landlord must give you if they think you have violated your lease or they have grounds for a No-Cause eviction.

A notice must be served to you before the landlord can take you to court to evict you. The notice is served by the landlord or management company before they file a ‘Complaint’ with the court which leads to a ‘Court Summons’.

The state laws determine what type of notice a landlord can use, when, how long it lasts for, and for what reasons. Notices must provide information on how a tenant can remedy the offenses (which can mean demanding the tenant move out).

HOW TO DETERMINE IF A NOTICE IS LAWFUL (ORS 90.155, 90.160)

For your landlord’s notice to be lawful (legal) it must adhere to the following:

  • The notice must be provided in writing and on paper: Emails, text messages & verbal notices are NOT lawful forms of notice!

  • The notice must always include an end date, or a move out date.

  • Include details about the violation landlord thinks the tenant made (if a For-Cause notice)

  • Explain how the tenant can fix the violation

The landlord must also serve the notice properly, in at least one of the following ways:

  • Give the notice in person: In this case the notice period begins when notice is handed to you.

  • Mail the notice to your address: If mailed, notice period begins 3 days after the post date.

  • Put the notice on your door AND mail you a copy. In this case the notice period begins when it is put on the door or mailed (whichever is first).

TYPES OF NOTICES

NO-CAUSE TERMINATION NOTICES

A No-Cause termination means that the tenant is being evicted under no fault of their own.

  • No-Cause Termination Notices Before 12 months of Rent (ORS 90.427)

    During the first 12 months of renting, a landlord in Oregon does not need to provide a tenant with a reason for why they are asking them to move.

  • No-Cause Termination Notices After 12 months of Rent (SB 608/ORS 90.427)

    After the first 12 months of renting the landlord can only use the following ‘Landlord Reasons’ to issue a 90-day termination notice:

  1. Landlord intends to demolish your unit or plans to use it for something other than housing. Landlord must state supporting facts allowing termination.

  2. Landlord intends to make repairs or changes to your unit that will make it unlivable. Landlord must state facts supporting repair needs.

  3. Landlord sold your unit to someone who will now live in it (not rent it). Landlord must provide proof of sale.

  4. Landlord needs to house a family member and has no other unit to use for them except yours

  5. ‘Three Strikes’: If tenant has committed and has been served notices for three prior lease violations

  6. If a landlord chooses to use a ‘Landlord Reasons’ for eviction, then they must provide relocation assistance (landlord is exempt from providing relocation if they own 4 or less units)

FOR-CAUSE TERMINATION NOTICES

For-cause means that the landlord thinks the tenants have violated the lease agreement.

Depending on the violation, the tenant can either ‘cure’ (solve the problem), have to move-out in 24 hours, or prepare to fight the landlord’s accusations in court. These notices must detail the violation, and explain a way to ‘remedy’ the issue.

  • For-Cause Notices That Can Be “Cured” (ORS 90.392, 90.325)

    These 30-day notices inform you that you somehow may have violated the lease, and need to do something to fix the violation or risk getting evicted. If you receive a second notice for the same problem after being previously cited, the landlord can give you a 10-day notice.

    Some violations are:

  1. Nonpayment of rent, utility fees, or late-rent fees

  2. Removing smoke detectors or sprinkler heads

  3. Damaging the unit beyond normal “wear and tear”

  4. Unauthorized roommates or long term visitors who are not listed on the lease

  5. Unauthorized pet (landlord can issue a 10 day notice for this)

  6. Failing to keep the unit in good condition or trash/rubbish is visibly out of hand

  7. Weekly Rent: the notice is 10 days notice & tenant 4 days to cure.

  • 24 Hour For-Cause Termination Notices (ORS 90.396)

    These notices are used when the landlord believes the tenant, or someone in the “tenants control”, has done something outrageous. In these cases the tenant must move out in 24 hours (or go to trial) and has no opportunity to “cure” the issue.

    They can be used when:

  1. Tenant or “someone in tenant’s control”, threatens or inflicts bodily harm on someone on premises or the landlord

  2. Tenant or “someone in tenant’s control”, recklessly endangers someone on premises

  3. Tenant or “someone in tenant’s control”, commits an act that is “outrageous in the extreme” including prostitution, burglary, a biased crime, manufacture/delivery/possession of a controlled substance

  4. Tenant hurts a neighbor

  5. Providing false information on a lease

  6. Damaging the unit severely

  7. A pet harms someone or damages the unit (tenant can remove pet within 24 hours to stay)

HOW TO RESPOND TO NOTICES

Depending on the type of notice, the nature of rent payments, and the months of tenancy, there are different ways to best respond to a notice from the landlord.

The number-one thing to do is to not panic. You can always hit us up if you’re confused.

FIRST: ASSESS THE NOTICE

Not all notices are the same, not all are of great consequence either.

It is important to stop and think before responding to any notice. There are red flags to watch for when reviewing notices.

The following are “red flags” because landlord notices are governed by law and unlawful notices can be struck down in court or can deem a notice defective:

  • Is the notice lawful? Did the landlord incorrectly serve the notice? ANY UNLAWFUL NOTICE CAN ESSENTIALLY BE IGNORED BUT STAY VIGILANT.

  • Does the notice have incorrect information? Incorrect dates? Misspelled names? These errors can get a case dismissed, but the landlord will likely refile.

  • Does the notice claim that you have to sign a private agreement with the landlord?

  • Is the notice actually a termination or lease violation notice?

  • A notice does not mean you have to self-evict yourself: Anytime a landlord wishes to force a tenant to leave they must go through the court to do so (ORS 105.105). If the landlord hasn't taken you to court yet, you do not have to leave yet.

SECOND: ASSESS YOUR SITUATION & DOCUMENT EVERYTHING

Most of the time, tenants do not want to leave when the landlord wants them to leave. But sometimes moving is the best way out of a stressful environment.

  • It is always to the advantage of the tenant to document all correspondence with the landlord and to save any notices from the landlord. DOCUMENT / SCREENSHOT EVERYTHING.

  • If the notice is demanding that you vacate, you need to assess the risk of getting an eviction on your record against how much difficulty it is for you to move.

  • If the landlord’s claims seem false and you do not want to move then you might have a way to resist and stay in your home. Contact us if this is the case!

  • If the notice is for a violation that you believe is not a false accusation and you can perform the required actions to ‘cure’ the violation, then the path of least trouble is most likely fixing the violation.

  • If you believe the accusation is false try contacting your landlord about this in writing, or contact us about the issue!

  • Only you know what is best for you. Envision where you want to be: there is nothing wrong with wanting to leave. If you want to stay in your home we will be here to help you figure out how to!

THIRD: HOW TO RESIST AND PUSHBACK

If the notice demands that you vacate the property and you do not wish to leave, then your options are going to be similar (but not limited to) the following:

Allow the eviction process to initiate and then fight the landlord during the court proceedings with legal representation.

The Landlord - Tenant court of Multnomah is stacked against tenants: WE DO NOT recommend tenants represent themselves in trials. WE DO recommend seeking legal representation.

Contact the landlord or the landlord’s lawyer and try to make a private agreement to settle the matter.

There are almost no “good landlords” and consequently there are almost no “good private agreements” to be made when the landlord wants you out. They do not care about you, they only care about their profits. Your one bargaining chip in making the agreements privately, it that it will save your landlord court costs, so it may be worth going this route if you can get them to agree to something that works for you. They might be willing to give a longer move out date or less aggressive payment plan if it means not having to go to court.

In Landlord Tenant Court, the judges try to push almost every case into a “Stipulated Agreement”. These agreements are bound by the court, meaning that if either side fails to uphold their end of the agreement the court can make a judgement against them. If you do enter into a “stipulated agreement”, make sure it is something you know you can uphold, otherwise the court can evict you for not following the agreement. For example, if a tenant can’t move out by the agreed upon date or pay the amount owed on time, the court then evicts that tenant once they find that they haven’t held up to the “stipulated agreement” they made in court.

Organize with other tenants at your building or who rent from the same landlord.

Chances are that other tenants in your building or who rent from the same landlord are experiencing problems like yours. When more tenants resist against the same landlord, it makes it both very difficult and very costly for the landlord to fight back. Landlords are bound by law to not retaliate against tenants for organizing tenant-associations (despite landlords often foolishly acting as if the law doesn't apply to them).