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In today’s highly competitive rental market, effective advertising is crucial to attracting the right renters. But for these very same reasons, your advertising and marketing practices can get you into fair housing hot water. The advertising media you select and the message you craft may be illegally exclusive. While it can be direct and…

  Question:  We have sub-metered water and are sending tenants monthly water bills. May I charge them a late fee for failure to pay the bill on time? If so, how do I go about notifying them?    

Question:  Your community allows residents to reserve the common room for parties and other social activities, including Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations. A resident asks if he can reserve the room to host a pagan celebration to mark the winter solstice. Must you grant his request?      

  Question: We are trying to send an eviction notice to a tenant who will not keep their pet inside; it is consistently defecating in a neighbor’s yard. I am confused about which MHCO form to use. I don’t wish to levy a fine[1] as they have already received a citation from the city. The 30-Day eviction for continuing violations (No. 43 seems to…

Editor's Note:  In 2019 the Oregon Legislature made changes to mediation for Oregon Community owners and residents.  At the time time we published 17 Q&As for MHCO members by Bill Miner, Davis Wright Tremaine.  Here is a re-visit of an article published earlier.  

  HUD recently announced that it has approved a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreementbetween the Housing Authority of Maricopa County, in Mesa, Ariz., and one of its residents who has a mental health disability. Under the agreement, the housing authority will pay $10,000 to the tenant and provide fair housing training for its employees who…

  Question: We have a tenant who physically assaulted one of our Managers, creating an unsafe condition for numerous tenants. Police were called. Tenant was arrested and transported to a hospital for observation. Since her arrest she remains in a facility.  How should we handle this - 24-hour notice or 30-day notice?    Also, how do we serve…

Question: What can the landlord do when water is obviously leaking from one of the resident’s homes? And what if the leak is less obvious, e.g. from under the home?    

  “Retaliation” is a fancy word for revenge. It’s a nasty action that you take to get back at somebody for doing something bad to you. In the context of fair housing, retaliation means an unfavorable action a landlord takes like rejecting a rental applicant or evicting a tenant because he complains about discrimination or exercises any of his…

  On August 19, 2021, the Oregon Supreme Court issued Chief Justice Order #21-031 (“CJO 21-031”) which extends certain statutory time periods for FED/Eviction actions. The CJO went into effect immediately and remains so until 60-days after the end of Oregon’s COVID State of Emergency or until the Chief Justice so orders. As of now the Governor’s…