Oregon has run statewide rent control since 2019, the first state to do it, and the number that matters for 2026 is 9.5%. That's the most you can raise rent on a covered unit this calendar year, published every September by the state's Office of Economic Analysis. Get the percentage, the notice, or the timing wrong and the tenant can collect three months' rent, so this guide starts where the money is and works outward.

The 2026 rent cap: 9.5%, once a year, on 90 days' notice

For any tenancy other than week-to-week, ORS 90.323 lets you raise rent only after the first year of the tenancy, no more than once in any 12-month period, and only with written notice delivered at least 90 days before the increase takes effect. The notice must state the increase, the new rent, and the effective date; if you're claiming an exemption, it must also state the facts that support it.

The ceiling comes from ORS 90.324: the lesser of 10%, or 7% plus the 12-month average change in CPI-U for the West Region. The Department of Administrative Services publishes the number by September 30 for the following year. For 2025 it was 10.0%; for 2026 it's 9.5%. An over-cap increase makes you liable for three months' rent plus the tenant's actual damages (ORS 90.323). Rentari's compliance alerts track the published cap and the 90-day window for you.

Units that escape the cap

Two exemptions, and only two. Buildings whose first certificate of occupancy issued less than 15 years before the notice can raise rent freely, which is why new construction leases read differently. Regulated affordable housing is also exempt where the increase doesn't raise the tenant's own share. California's statewide cap runs on a different formula with different exemptions, so don't assume the rules travel.

Manufactured home parks got a tighter cap in 2025

HB 3054, effective September 1, 2025, capped space-rent increases at 6% in manufactured dwelling parks and floating home marinas with more than 30 spaces. Smaller parks follow the standard 9.5% number.

The first-year window and the qualifying-reason regime

Oregon abolished the open-ended no-cause eviction in 2019, and ORS 90.427 is now the section to reread before any termination. During the first year of occupancy you may end a month-to-month tenancy without cause on 30 days' written notice. Once the tenant passes the one-year mark, no-cause is gone; you need a qualifying landlord reason and a 90-day notice: demolition or conversion, repairs that make the unit unfit to occupy, you or immediate family moving in, or a sale to a buyer who will live there.

A qualifying-reason notice must arrive with a check: one month's rent in relocation assistance, unless you have an ownership interest in four or fewer dwelling units. Terminate wrong and the tenant gets three months' rent plus actual damages, and a defense that can sink your eviction case (ORS 90.427).

New for 2026: a tenant who receives a 90-day termination notice can leave early on their own 30-day notice, and you can't charge a termination fee or rent past their exit date (HB 2134, effective January 1, 2026).

Portland plays by harder rules

Inside Portland city limits, the 30-day first-year window doesn't exist: no-cause and qualifying-reason terminations take 90 days' notice from day one, and Portland City Code 30.01.085 adds mandatory relocation payments of $2,900 to $4,500 depending on bedroom count. The payment is triggered by no-cause terminations, non-renewals, qualifying-reason terminations, and even a rent increase of 10% or more in 12 months if the tenant requests it. Milwaukie also requires 90 days. Own in the metro, read the city code before you serve anything.

Deposits: no cap, a 31-day clock, and double damages

Oregon sets no maximum on security deposits. What it polices is the exit: within 31 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant hands back possession, you owe a written accounting that states the specific basis of every claim, plus a refund of whatever you didn't claim (ORS 90.300). Withhold wrongfully or skip the accounting and the tenant can recover twice the amount wrongfully withheld. No statewide interest requirement, and charges must be real: unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear, carpet cleaning only under conditions the statute spells out.

January 1, 2026 added a new rule for holding deposits, the money applicants pay to take a unit off the market. Under HB 3521 you may collect one only from an approved applicant, and if the rental agreement doesn't get executed, the refund is due within 5 business days or penalties attach.

If you also hold rentals in Alaska or Hawaii, the deposit rules change at the border; both states run stricter caps than Oregon's none.

Entry takes 24 hours of actual notice

Outside emergencies, you need to give at least 24 hours' actual notice of intent to enter, then enter only at reasonable times (ORS 90.322). Actual notice means it genuinely reached the tenant, not a note that might get found later. After an emergency entry while the tenant is out, leave written notice within 24 hours stating the date, time, nature of the emergency, and who went in.

Enter unlawfully or lean on repeated demands and the statute calls it harassment: the tenant can get an injunction or terminate, and recover damages of at least one month's rent (ORS 90.322).

Rent, late fees, and the 10-day nonpayment path

Late fees wait. A charge can't be imposed until rent is still unpaid on the fourth day of the rental period, and only if the written agreement states the type, amount, and due dates (ORS 90.260). The statute allows exactly three structures: a reasonable flat amount customary in your market, charged once per period; 5% of the rent, charged once per succeeding 5-day period of delinquency; or a per-day charge capped at 6% of that reasonable flat amount.

Nonpayment eviction slowed down in 2023. SB 799 replaced Oregon's old 72-hour notice: you may serve no sooner than the eighth day of the rental period, and the notice must give at least 10 days to pay before the tenancy terminates (ORS 90.394). If the tenant shows you documentation of a rental assistance application, the timeline pauses. For other lease violations, the notice is 30 days with a 14-day cure; a repeat of the same violation within six months allows a 10-day notice with no cure right (ORS 90.392).

Self-help remains radioactive. Change locks or cut utilities and ORS 90.375 hands the tenant up to two months' rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus possession back. File the eviction case instead, with notices that match the statute word for word; our forms library carries the Oregon-specific versions.

Disclosures Oregon actually checks

At or before move-in, disclose in writing who manages the property and who is authorized to receive notices and service of process (ORS 90.305). If the unit sits in a 100-year flood plain, the rental agreement must say so; skip it and an uninsured flood loss costs you the lesser of the tenant's actual loss or two months' rent (ORS 90.228). The agreement must also state your smoking policy (ORS 90.220). Pre-1978 buildings carry the federal lead-based paint disclosure and pamphlet on top.

Underneath it all sits ORS 90.320's habitability list: weatherproofing, working plumbing and heat, safe electrical, locks, and the rest. Fail on an essential service and the tenant can procure substitutes, recover damages, or in serious cases walk, so treat habitability tickets as the compliance items they are.

What changed: 2023 rewrote the numbers, 2025 kept going

  • SB 611 (July 2023): tightened the rent-cap formula to the lesser of 10% or 7% plus CPI, after the old formula produced a 14.6% ceiling in 2023 (ORS 90.324).
  • SB 799 (2023): stretched the nonpayment notice from 72 hours to 10 days and added the rental-assistance pause (ORS 90.394).
  • HB 3054 (effective 2025-09-01): 6% space-rent cap in manufactured home parks and marinas over 30 spaces.
  • HB 3521 (2026-01-01): holding deposits only from approved applicants, 5-business-day refund rule.
  • HB 3522 (2026-01-01): a 24-hour termination path for unauthorized occupants of property not rented as a dwelling.
  • HB 2134 (2026-01-01): tenants may exit on 30 days' notice after receiving a 90-day termination, fee-free.
  • 2026 cap published: 9.5% standard, 6% for large parks and marinas.

Keep the current numbers pinned on our Oregon quick-reference page, and the statute text lives at the Oregon Legislature's ORS chapter 90.

Oregon landlord FAQ

Can I raise the rent 9.5% on every unit in 2026?

Only if the tenancy is past its first year, you haven't raised rent in the previous 12 months, and you give 90 days' written notice (ORS 90.323). Units first occupied less than 15 years ago are exempt from the percentage cap but still owe proper notice.

What happens if I go over the cap?

The tenant can sue for three months' rent plus actual damages (ORS 90.323). In Portland, an increase of 10% or more can separately trigger a relocation payment of $2,900 to $4,500 if the tenant requests it.

Do I owe interest on security deposits in Oregon?

No. Oregon requires no interest and sets no deposit cap; the obligations are the 31-day accounting and refund, with double damages for wrongful withholding (ORS 90.300).

Can I still remove a tenant without cause?

Only during the first year of occupancy, with 30 days' notice, and not in Portland, where 90 days and relocation assistance apply from day one. After the first year you need a qualifying reason under ORS 90.427, 90 days' notice, and usually one month's rent in relocation assistance.

How fast can I evict for nonpayment?

Serve the 10-day notice no earlier than the eighth day of the rental period (ORS 90.394). If rent isn't paid by the deadline, file the eviction case; never change locks or cut services, which costs two months' rent or double damages under ORS 90.375.

This is general information for Oregon rental owners, not legal advice. Oregon adjusts these numbers annually and cities layer on their own rules, so confirm anything you rely on against the current ORS text, the DAS publication, or an Oregon landlord-tenant attorney.