Oregon For-Cause Evictions in Astoria, Warrenton, and Seaside

In Oregon, a “for-cause eviction” refers to an eviction where a landlord or property manager seeks to evict a tenant for a valid reason under the lease or applicable statute. “For-cause” means that the landlord or property manager claims that the tenant has either violated the lease itself or a provision of law, and in such an eviction the landlord or property manager must articulate the valid reason for the eviction. In residential landlord-tenant situations, the law governing for-cause evictions is laid out in ORS 90, ORS 105, and caselaw decided by the Oregon Court of Appeals and Oregon Supreme Court.

In certain communities, there may be additional laws--e.g., a landlord or property manager seeking to evict a tenant in Portland should check Portland law and Multnomah County law. Special situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic may significantly modify the laws which normally apply to for-cause evictions.

There are various types of for-cause evictions for residential properties, and while sometimes a tenant may have an opportunity to “cure” or fix the problem, other times the law may allow a for-cause eviction without the opportunity for the tenant to make things right.

Generally, a for-cause eviction in Clatsop County, Oregon, should follow a three-part process:

• First, the landlord or property manager drafts and serves a valid for-cause eviction notice;
• Second, the applicable time period runs;
• Third, the landlord or property manager then files an eviction case with the court and must serve the tenant(s) and all other occupants.

In cases where a tenant has the opportunity to remedy the problem and does so, the tenant may avoid the eviction process and the landlord or property manager may no longer pursue an eviction against the tenant.

For-cause notices in residential situations include the following:

• 24-hour notice for personal injury, substantial damage, extremely outrageous act, or unlawful occupant (ORS 90.396 or 90.403)
• 24-hour or 48-hour notice for violation of a drug or alcohol program (ORS 90.398)
• 24-hour notice for perpetrating domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (ORS 90.445)
• 72-hour or 144-hour notice for nonpayment of rent in a week-to-week tenancy (ORS 90.394)
• 10-day or 13-day notice for nonpayment of rent in a non-week-to-week tenancy (ORS 90.394)
• 7-day notice with stated cause in a week-to-week tenancy (ORS 90.392 (6))
• 10-day notice for a pet violation, a repeat violation with stated cause, or without stated cause in a week-to-week tenancy (ORS 90.392 (5), 90.405 or 90.427 (2))
• 20-day notice for a repeat violation (ORS 90.630 (6))
• 30-day or 60-day notice without stated cause in a month-to-month tenancy (ORS 90.427 (3)(b) or (8)(a)(B) or (C))
• 30-day notice with stated cause (ORS 90.392, 90.630 or 90.632)
• 30-day notice without stated cause in a fixed-term tenancy (ORS 90.427(4)(b) or (8)(b)(B))
• 60-day notice with stated cause (ORS 90.632)
• 90-day notice with stated cause (ORS 90.427 (5) or (7))
• 180-day notice without stated cause in a month-to-month tenancy (ORS 90.429)
• Notice to bona fide tenants after foreclosure sale or termination of fixed-term tenancy after foreclosure sale (ORS 86.782(6)(c))

Additionally, a landlord or property manager may wish to consider whether a so-called qualifying landlord reason exists to issue a for-cause notice. Sometimes, a qualifying landlord reason may also be described as a “no-cause notice.” In any event, in this scenario, qualifying landlord reasons include the following situations:

• The landlord intends to demolish the dwelling unit within a reasonable time;
• The landlord intends to convert the unit to a use other than residential within a reasonable time;
• The landlord intends to undertake repairs or renovations to the dwelling unit within a reasonable time and the premises are currently unsafe or unfit for occupancy or the dwelling unit will be unsafe or unfit for occupancy during the repairs or renovations;
• The landlord has accepted an offer to sell a dwelling unit separately from any other unit and the buyer is a person who intends in good faith to occupy the unit as the buyer’s primary residence and within 120 days after accepting the purchase offer the landlord provides the tenant with written notice of termination with a specific termination date and written evidence of the offer to purchase the dwelling unit;
• The landlord or a member of the landlord’s immediate family intends to occupy the unit as a primary residence and the landlord does not own a unit in the same building that is available for occupancy at the same time that the tenant receives notice to terminate the tenancy.

Landlords and property managers should note that changes in the law may modify or suspend certain types of for-cause evictions. E.g., during the coronavirus pandemic, for-cause evictions based on nonpayment of rent have been significantly impacted and the law has periodically been amended by legislation.

In addition to properly serving a named tenant with a for-cause eviction notice, the landlord or property manager should also serve any other occupant, including those who are not officially part of the lease. Occasionally, it is difficult to know who is really living in a rental property and what their actual identity is; for this reason, any for-cause eviction notice should also include a reference to “All Other Occupants,” so that there is no gap in the notice.

When communicating with tenants, a landlord or property manager should carefully document all communications in writing. Where there are verbal communications, such exchanges should be reduced to writing. This means the landlord or property manager should carefully organize and manage their file for the rental property, including retaining letters, e-mails, and text messages.

For-cause evictions for residential rental properties in Clatsop County, Oregon, are decided at the Clatsop County Circuit Court in Astoria, Oregon. This is true for all for-cause evictions for residential properties located throughout Clatsop County, including those located in the following communities:

• Astoria
• Warrenton
• Gearhart
• Seaside
• Cannon Beach
• Jeffers Garden
• Westport
• Arch Cape
• Bradwood
• Brownsmead
• Carnahan
• Clifton
• Elsie
• Fern Hill
• Fort Stevens
• Grand Rapids
• Hamlet
• Hammond
• Jewell
• Jewell Junction
• Knappa
• Lukarilla
• Mileville
• Miles Crossing
• Mishawaka
• Navy Heights
• Necanicum
• Oklahoma Hill
• Olney
• Skipanon
• Sunset Beach
• Surf Pines
• Svensen
• Svensen Junction
• Taylorville
• Tolavana Park
• Tongue Point Village
• Uniontown
• Vesper
• Vinemaple
• Wauna

If you are a landlord or property manager and have questions about landlord-tenant issues on the north coast of Oregon, please contact Coast Land Law for a consultation about how you can best protect your rights. For residential landlord-tenant issues, we are dedicated to representing the interests of landlords and property managers. We have worked professional landlords who own large, multi-unit developments, as well as smaller mom-and-pop landlords. We work with clients who own or manage rental properties in Clatsop and Tillamook Counties.