Coast Land Law works with landlords in residential landlord-tenant matters and advises owners, property managers, and investors about complex landlord-tenant laws. Also, we represent both landlords and tenants in commercial landlord-tenant matters. The issues we handle include:

This is not an exhaustive list and is merely offered for illustration.

Understanding Landlord-Tenant Issues

In Oregon, residential landlords are held to strict laws which they must follow. For residential properties, the laws generally are more protective of tenants’ rights, so landlords should be careful to follow the law, use updated forms, and implement best practices.

Boilerplate forms for residential properties should not be used and are easily challenged by tenants and tenants’ attorneys. We strongly recommend landlords use forms which are vetted and updated specifically for Oregon. We have found that the forms created by Multifamily NW and the Oregon Rental Housing Association are good.

Typically, tenant attorneys are not paid by residential tenants directly. Instead, they make their living looking for errors by landlords and seeking to extract fees in settlement agreements. Landlords should take tenant attorneys seriously and recognize potential liability issues.

We help landlords deal with tenant advocacy groups, including Legal Aid and Oregon Law Center. Also, we help landlords evaluate and respond to complaints from BOLI (Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries).

In contrast, commercial rental property is treated differently, and the law largely allows landlords and tenants to negotiate their rights through their leases. Commercial tenants are well-served by recognizing they may have significant liability under a commercial lease and should have an attorney review a commercial lease before signing.

In commercial leases, it is especially important for commercial tenants to understand their responsibilities under the lease and whether their improvements and fixtures become a part of the premises. Additionally, commercial tenants should inquire whether the landlord can lease space in the same development to competitors.

Commercial landlords should anticipate commercial tenants are more sophisticated and may be working with counsel if significant issues should arise during the tenancy.

Landlord-Tenant Practice on the North Coast

“I enjoy working with residential landlords. Contrary to some horror stories that are recycled, I have found most residential landlords are good people, who want to do the right thing. They want their tenants to be contented and stay for the long term. Vacancies hurt these landlords, so they want to have happy tenants in their rental properties.

“The challenge for residential landlords in Oregon is that the playing field is not even. Oregon landlord-tenant laws for residential properties are geared towards protecting vulnerable tenants from overreaching landlords. The reality is that by going so far, we harm many mom-and-pop landlords who are just trying to make extra income on the side,” says Sunil.

Landlord-tenant attorney Sunil Raju works with a variety of residential landlords. “I work with the ‘professionals’—property managers and owners of larger, multi-unit developments, who have a different set of priorities and issues. In this setting, I work with clients to help them identify best practices, avoid common pitfalls, and help improve how rental properties are being managed.

“Certain residential landlords are targets—tenants, tenant advocacy groups, and tenant attorneys view certain residential landlords as having deep pockets and look for cases to push some cause or make an example out of a particular landlord,” says Sunil.

“With commercial properties, the focus tends to be fairly different. I enjoy helping commercial landlords and tenants maintain and promote a positive business relationship where possible. The reality is something always seems to come up. It is in both sides’ interests to work through issues together and preserve the business relationship where possible,” says Sunil.

Representative Experience

• Defended landlord successfully during eviction proceedings against accusations of discrimination and retaliation.
• Negotiated tenant’s voluntary termination of lease with full payment of all back rent.
• Helped property manager evict tenant who raised multiple false claims and complaints to governmental agencies.
• Assisted landlord with disposition of abandoned property left behind by evicted tenant.
• Implemented new parking and internet policies with the landlord for multi-unit development.
• Evicted family member squatting on our client’s rural property.
• Worked with the landlord and law enforcement to evict violent tenant and protect remaining tenants.
• Developed plan with landlord to document rent benefits for employees of a large apartment complex.
• Guided our client through a complex eviction case involving a tenant who turned their rental property into a drug house.
• Coordinated with law enforcement to forcibly remove tenants who refused to leave after the court eviction.

Contact an Experienced Landlord-Tenant Attorney on the Oregon Coast

For assistance with landlord-tenant matters on the Oregon coast, call Coast Land Law at (503) 470-7070 or contact us online to find out more information.