Every landlord who rents a space for a manufactured dwelling or floating home shall provide a written rental agreement, except as provided by ORS 90.710 (Causes of action)(2)(d). The agreement must be signed by the landlord and tenant and may not be unilaterally amended by one of the parties to the contract except by:
Those provisions required by changes in statute or ordinance. (Emphasis added.)
In a recent Oregon Court of Appeals case, the full impact of these "unilateral" amendment provisions became the subject of scrutiny that (unless appealed and overturned by the Oregon Supreme Court) should serve as a cautionary warning for park owners and managers.
Oregon landlord-tenant law is complicated. And mistakes in understanding the law frequently work against landlords. The basic rule-of-thumb to remember is that the written document which defines the landlord-tenant relationship must be complete and must be followed. While Oregon law does contain some restrictions upon what landlords can put into their rental agreements,[1] generally, they are far better off commencing the rental relationship with a strong, clear and fair written document. MHCO has gone to great lengths in making sure that its forms meet these criteria. What follows is a list of ten tips and traps to remember when using the MHCO Rental Agreement form.
Question: Over the years Oregon rental laws change. When should I update my rental agreement to reflect those changes? Can I change my “Statement of Policy”? What about the community rules and regulations?
Question: Can our park use the regular MHCO manufactured home rental agreement for RV tenants who are allowed in certain spaces throughout our manufactured home park?