Landlord Requirements to have licensed plumber or electtrician

Question: A landlord recently purchased a manufactured home in his community. He wants to fix the home up and then resell it. Does the landlord have to be a licensed plumber or electrician to do the respective work on the home?Answer: Yes! It's one thing to be performing repairs on one's own home, and quite another to be doing so on a home intended for re-sale. But keep in mind that in either case, the repairs have to conform to all of the specialty codes - which is a reason enough for using a licensed and bonded contractor in either event. From a liability standpoint, the contractor should be thoroughly vetted through the Construction Contractor's Board. Make sure that the contractor has no complaints or other Board action. If the home is to be sold on an installment contract, make sure a current form of security agreement is used. Make sure the lien is properly filed with the Department of Consumer and Business Services and appears on the title to the purchaser's home until it is paid off. Make sure the Bill of Sale and, if applicable, the retail installment contract, both have extensive AS-IS language, making no express warranties and disclaiming all implied warranties. Make sure the buyer gets their own inspection of the home, inside and out, including all systems such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. I don't recommend letting the buyer waive the inspection - it could come back and bite the landlord if an unknown defect is later found. The landlord wants the buyer relying on his own expert, not on anything the landlord says. After the sale the landlord does not want any lingering liabilities.The landlord may likely have to be licensed as a dealer under ORS 446.003(8). Review ORS 446.616 for the rules concerning transfer of an interest in a manufactured home. Review ORS 446.611 for the rules regarding perfecting a security interest in the home. See ORS 446.641 regarding notification to the county of a transfer of ownership in the home. The landlord should be careful to record his interest first once it is acquired - and make sure title is clear when he first receives it. Otherwise, he may find himself trying to transfer an interest that the public records show belongs to his predecessor and/or has unreleased liens on it.

Increasing Late Fees

Question: A landlord currently charges a $25 late fee. She wants to increase it to $50. Can she do that and if so, what kind of notice should she give? Also, can she change the late fee from a flat amount to a percentage (e.g. 10%) of rent? Answer: Here is a summary of ORS 90.260, the late fee statute.

Cable Company Offers Community Owner Cash and Equipment/Infrastructure Upgrade

Question:  A cable company has offered to install all of the equipment and infrastructure for park-wide cable services at no charge.  We are to receive a one-time payment in exchange for which we give the company an exclusive right to market their services to our residents. They have asked that we sign a written contract which is recordable.  The amount paid is confidential and that portion of the agreement may not be recorded.  There are several provisions that cause us some concern, one of which is whether there might be some violation of the Oregon landlord-tenant law.  What is your opinion?

 

Answer:  Without actually seeing the contracts, I can only address what I know about such agreements in general.  To that extent, this response must be considered general in nature, and not specific to any particular cable company or park.  I do not practice any form of law that deals with the regulation of utilities, so cannot comment on whether this arrangement complies with those laws.  You may wish to contact the appropriate regulator, just to make sure.

 

Oregon Landlord-Tenant Law.  In general, I know of no specific laws that would be directly violated by such agreements.  Cable services are covered under the law as "utilities. -"  Accordingly, ORS 90.532 governs, and you should review it.  I am assuming by your question, that the cable company has the right to contact the park residents and market their services.  Your question does not mention any costs to the park, so I assume the monthly service would be charged directly to the residents, if they choose to subscribe.  It is important that you become familiar with the subscription policies and fees, especially whether they are consistent with those provided outside the park.  Remember that you will be giving the company a "captive audience"and it may be difficult, if not impossible, to terminate the service, once you are under contract.  Will the marketing occur before installation of the infrastructure.  Will there be any minimum number of subscribers?  Will rates change and if so, could residents demand you change companies because their rates are not competitive?  How easily may the residents terminate their subscription services?

 

If you currently provide some type of cable service, either from this company or another, what is your billing arrangement?  If it is buried in the base rent, you may have to deal with whether you should treat this arrangement like a utility "conversion,"such that you must pull the charge out of your base rent, so that the residents are not double-billed.

 

Park Documents.  What do your rules and rental agreements say?  Is there anything in them that could run afoul of the agreements the company is asking you to sign?  While nothing specific comes to mind that could pose a problem, the best way to avoid the unexpected is to verify that there is no risk of some violation of the park documents by the cable agreements, or vice versa. 

 

General Observations. Here is a checklist of general issues you may wish to consider:

 

  • Confidentiality always concerns me.  Why does the company want it?  I suspect they don't want parks "comparing notes"on the deal they cut with their company.  While that is understandable, it poses the risk of inadvertent disclosure.  What is the "penalty"for disclosure?  Do you have to refund the initial payment made?  If so, does that mean the deal is over, or does the remainder of the agreement survive - that is, does the company still have the exclusive right to provide services in the park?  I think I would like to see some language which penalized only intentional or willful disclosures (assuming you have any ability at all to negotiate some of these terms).

 

  • I assume the company will own all of the equipment.  Are there certain limitations on their ability to come and go inside the park?  Specifically, is there a risk of noise, inconvenience, traffic issues, etc?  How long will installation take?  Will the park grounds be restored to their original condition?  Again, remember, once these agreements are signed, you're at the company's mercy on what they do.  Make sure their reputation for service and cooperation is good. 

 

  • What is the term of the agreement? I suspect it contains a provision for automatic renewal, absent one party or the other giving notice of termination?  While that is fair, you have to carefully read the agreements to see if there is any right to terminate without cause.  In other words, can you get out of the deal "just because,"or does there have to be a breach? 

 

  • If either side terminates does the initial payment have to be returned to the company?  If so, you might consider making that payment "nonrefundable"after a certain length of time, say five years.  You want to make sure that if the agreements become unenforceable due to some law or similar situation over which you have no control, that you do not have to refund the money.  That is why I suggest a period of years, after which the money becomes refundable.

 

  • Recording of any agreement is significant.  Once recorded, it will act as a sort of restrictive covenant on the land, and will continue ad infinitum.  In your case, I suspect that the recorded agreement will act as a sort of "floating"easement, giving the company general rights of ingress and egress to install, maintain and repair the equipment.  If the easement rights are not specifically defined, you may want to make sure you understand, in advance, where the equipment will be located.  You want to make sure there will be no risk that the company's right of access interferes with the residents' spaces.  It's easy to record such agreements on the public record, but much more difficult to remove them in the event of a dispute.  Do either of your agreements address that issue?  If you part ways with the company, are they obligated to remove their easement rights from the public record (e.g. by a recorded notice of abandonment of their rights under the agreement)?   Will you have to pay any costs to have this done?

 

  • You want to make sure that if the agreement is terminated the equipment must be removed promptly and the land returned to its general pre-installation condition.

 

  • What about liability?  It is not uncommon for these agreements to have cross indemnification provisions, whereby you agree to indemnify them for your negligence, and they do the same. 

 

  • Are there limitations on damages in the agreement?  Most companies attempt to place limits on the kinds of damages that may be recovered (e.g. prohibitions on punitive damages).  Generally, that is fine, but just make sure that these limits apply just to park ownership, as you cannot limit the residents' right vis a vis the cable company.

 

  • If the company has an exclusive right to market its services to the residents, you want to make sure you know what their marketing efforts will consist of.  You want to make sure it will not include personal solicitation to residents.

 

  • Check with other parks to find out whether they have similar agreements.  I acknowledge that they may not talk about it due to the confidentiality provisions, but suspect the agreement that may be recorded is not "confidential. -"  Your main concern should be whether other park owners are satisfied with this particular company. 

 

  • Before jumping into anything, find out if there are competing companies that may have similar programs.

 

  • How will you deal with residents if they ask you whether you received any payment for giving the company its exclusive rights?  The best response might be that your practice is not to discuss the park's financial arrangement with vendors.  Nevertheless, you should expect someone might press the issue.

 

  • How will the exclusivity provisions in the agreement affect a resident's right to have satellite service?  Does the agreement deal with the possibility that satellite providers may want to market in the park?  You may have some difficulty in preventing a resident from signing up for such service, so this issue should be addressed with the cable company ahead of time.  "Exclusive"is a pretty broad term.  Find out what it entails and make sure that it is sufficiently spelled out in the agreement before you sign.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS Q & A SERVICE

THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED AS A BENEFIT FOR OUR MEMBERS.  IT IS MADE AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES, AND DOES NOT REPRESENT, AND IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE, LEGAL ADVICE OR OPINION AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS SUCH.

 

THE ANSWERS ARE SUMMARY IN NATURE, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO ADDRESS ALL RELEVANT LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS OR SITUATIONS RELATING TO LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL LAW OR RELEVANT CASE HOLDINGS.  IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC LEGAL ISSUE ON ANY MATTER, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR OWN ATTORNEY FAMILIAR WITH YOUR SPECIFIC FACTUAL SITUATION.  MHCO DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE TO MEMBERS OR NON-MEMBERS.

 

MHCO, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES AND ATTORNEYS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL RESPONSIBILITY RELATING TO THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS SERVICE.  IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.  IT IS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UP IN LIEU OF OBTAINING SPECIFIC ADVICE AND COUNSEL FROM YOUR OWN

ATTORNEY.


 

Medical Marijuana and Landlord Rights

Question: Our community is seeing an increase in the use of "medical"marijuana. Although those using it say they have "cards"permitting them to grow limited amounts, often this limited personal use appears to turn into more than that. We are noticing increasing late night traffic at some users' homes, and believe they are expanding their grow operations in order to sell the marijuana to unauthorized users. What can be done about this? It is quite disruptive to the rest of our community.Answer: A good discussion and summary of Oregon's medical marijuana law is found at the following link: http://public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/ChronicDisease/medic… The Oregon statutes are located at this link: http://public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/ChronicDisease/Medic… are the Oregon administrative rules:http://public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/ChronicDisease/Medic… As you can no doubt see, these laws and rules are focused primarily on legal marijuana use, rather than illegal use. Although Oregon's landlord-tenant law has a statute giving a landlord the right to issue a 24-hour notice to residents engaged in the manufacture, delivery or possession of controlled substances, it does not include "The medical use of marijuana in compliance with ORS 475.300 to 475.346. -"In order to evict the offending resident(s), the difficulty is trying to prove that the resident is actually manufacturing, deliverying, or possessing marijuana in violation of the law. This is particularly tough since the landlord cannot gain access to the interior of the home or the backyard. (If the backyard is concealed by a high fence, I would probably not advise a landlord to take pictures or view the area by using a ladder or other similar means. Leave that for the police.All in all, I have three suggestions: (a) Go the police and see if you can enlist their help in stopping this activity; (b) Find out how to start a neighborhood watch program that will discourage persons driving in to buy drugs; (c) Carefully and patiently begin tracking neighbor complaints of late night activity that causes a disturbance to the other neighbors. Begin by first contacting the offending resident by phone or a personal visit, politely asking that the activity cease. If it continues, write a letter (not a termination notice). If it continues, then issue a 30-day termination notice for violation of ORS 90.740(3)(i), which requires that tenants "Behave, and require persons on the premises with the consent of the tenant to behave, in a manner that does not disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the premises by neighbors." Once this notice is given, if the conduct stops within the 30 days, you may re-issue a second notice with a 20-day non-curable termination if it re-occurs with 6 months following issuance of the first 30-day curable notice. I prefer this approach, since the landlord is not required to "prove"that the resident was actually engaging in the manufacture, delivery or possession of marijuana. All you need to do is establish the circumstances giving rise to the disruption and that it is interfering with the peaceful enjoyment of the other residents. The judge or jury will be able to "connect the dots."

Landlord's Right To Enter Home

Question: In this situation, the landlord (i.e., community owner) owns the manufactured home located on a space in the park. The resident gave a 30-day notice earlier in the month. Rent was paid to the 10th day of the following month. The resident left the home, taking his belongings, but claims he will be back to clean the home up and collect his $400 cleaning deposit. However, the electric company is coming out to shut off the power because the resident owes them for unpaid bills. The landlord is concerned about the pipes freezing, since the local temperatures at night drops into the low 20s. What are the landlord's rights as far as entering the home? Specifically, what can the landlord do to save the pipes? Can the landlord have the electric bill changed to his/her name, enter the property and turn on the heat and power and then turn it off during the day? Where is this covered in the Oregon Revised Statutes? Can the landlord apply the $400 toward funds advance toward the electric bill?Answer: Under this scenario, the landlord is also the owner of the home, so under certain circumstances, access would be permitted. Under the manufactured housing side of the landlord-tenant law, where the tenant owns the home, I would say that the only right of access - even in an emergency - is to the space itself and not the interior of the home. It would only be following the landlord's declaration of an abandonment under ORS 90.675, that he/she would have a right to enter the home itself. Until that right arises, I would probably advise the landlord to stay out of the tenant's home under almost any circumstances, since there is no provision under the manufactured housing side of the law that permits such entry where the tenant owns the home.In our present case, the landlord also owns the home, so his/her rights are the same as any other landlord of an apartment or other rental unit. A landlord's right of access where the landlord owns the home, would be found in ORS 90.322 90.322(1)(b) deals with emergency access:In case of an emergency, a landlord may enter the dwelling unit or any portion of the premises under a tenant's exclusive control without consent of the tenant, without notice to the tenant and at any time. "Emergency" includes but is not limited to a repair problem that, unless remedied immediately, is likely to cause serious damage to the premises. If a landlord makes an emergency entry in the tenant's absence, the landlord shall give the tenant actual notice within 24 hours after the entry, and the notice shall include the fact of the entry, the date and time of the entry, the nature of the emergency and the names of the persons who entered. [Underscore added. - PCQ] As for the application of the security deposit, I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than simply applying it toward monies expended to keep the electricity on. Your question called it a "cleaning deposit." If that is how it was designated, it suggests that it may be applied only toward cleaning of the home. The better term to use in the rental agreement is "security deposit"which is designed to "secure the tenant's performance under the rental agreement." If the rental agreement required that the tenant keep all such utility charges current, then the breach of that provision would entitle the landlord to apply the deposit toward the expenditure of funds to remedy the breach. The security deposit statute is ORS 90.300, and is helpful to read, as it addresses the landlord's duty to account to the tenant for the expenditure of funds within 31 days following termination of the tenancy, or the tenant's departure, if later than the termination.

Statement of Policy - Complying with the Truth in Renting Act

As of July 1, 1992, all manufactured home communities renting space for manufactured dwellings have been required to provide prospective and existing tenants with a Statement of Policy. The applicants must receive their Statement of Policy before signing the rental agreement. Existing tenants who have not previously received a copy of the Statement of Policy and are on month-to-month rental agreements must receive their copy at the time the next 90-day rent increases notice is issued (ORS 90.510(3)(b). All other existing tenants shall receive a copy of the statement of policy upon expiration of their current rental agreement and before signing a new agreement.

While a Statement of Policy is not technically a contract, it is an important document. A tenant or rental applicant who makes their decisions or changes their position in reliance upon the policies set forth in the statement may be entitled to hold the landlord to those written policies. As proof of delivery of the Statement of Policy to tenants or applicants, it is advised to get a signed receipt.

A landlord who intentionally and deliberately fails to provide a Statement of Policy as required by ORS 90.510, or delivers a legally defective one, may be subject to a lawsuit.

The Statement of Policy is required to include the following information in summary form:

  1. The location and approximate size of the space to be rented.
  2. The federal fair housing age classification and present zoning that affect the use of the rented space.
  3. The facility policy regarding rent adjustment and a rent history for the space to be rented. The rent history must, at a minimum, show the rent amounts on January 1 of each of the five preceding calendar years or during the length of the landlord's ownership, leasing or subleasing of the facility, whichever period is shorter.
  4. All personal property, services and facilities to be provided by the landlord.
  5. All installation charges imposed by the landlord and installation fees imposed by government agencies.
  6. The facility policy regarding rental agreement termination including but not limited to closure of the facility.
  7. The facility policy regarding facility sale.
  8. The facility policy regarding informal dispute resolution.
  9. Utilities and services available, the person furnishing them and the person responsible for payment.
  10. If a tenants' association exists for the facility, a one-page summary about the tenants' association that shall be provided to the landlord by the tenants' association and shall be attached to the statement of policy.
  11. Any facility policy regarding the removal of a manufactured dwelling, including a statement that removal may impact the market value of a dwelling. 

New Americans with Disabilities Act Requirements for Swimming Pools

QUESTION: I have been informed by a swimming pool company that manufactured housing community owners are now required to provide an accessible means of entry for swimming pools. Is it true that community owners with existing pools will now have to buy pool lifts or construct accessible stairs into the pool? If so, it will be a huge expense for many park owners.

ANSWER: The Americans with Disability Act, or "ADA"deals with accommodations in two major sectors, public (Title II) and private (Title III). The public sector covers state and local governmental facilities and the private sector deals with private entities that "own, operate, and lease" places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, convention centers, retail stores, shopping malls, dry cleaners, laundromats, pharmacies, doctors' offices, hospitals, museums, libraries, parks, zoos, amusement parks, private schools, day care centers, health spa and bowling alleys.

On September 15, 2010, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), who enforces the ADA, issued revised regulations for Titles II and III. Among other things, the new regulations include new accessibility standards for swimming pools. Existing swimming pools must be modified to comply with the 2010 guidelines no later than March 12, 2012. For new construction, the 2010 guidelines must be followed on a going forward basis. Included in these guidelines are swimming pool accessibility requirements. They provide that any swimming pool with less than 300 linear feet of pool wall must provide one means of access either by sloped entry or by the installation of a pool lift.

Any pool that has more than 300 linear feet of pool wall must provide two means of access, which can be any of five designated means of access: (1) pool lifts, (2) sloped entries, (3) transfer walls, (4) transfer systems, or (5) accessible pool stairs. Having said this, it is clear that private manufactured housing communities are neither public or private facilities that offer "public accommodations"under the ADA " at least insofar as they do not open their pool and recreational facilities to the general public.

However, two words of warning:

  1. While the ADA does not strictly cover private residential facilities such as apartments, homes and manufactured housing communities, if a park resident provides child day care services open to the public in his or her private residence, those portions of the residence used for that purpose are subject to ADA's requirements. So, community owners and managers should be aware if any of their residents are operating such services, as ADA accessibility, including the pool area, may be subject to ADA requirements, to the extent that the resident makes the park facilities available for use by the children.
  2. The Fair Housing Act, which is administered by Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"), prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap. To that extent, landlords arerequired to make "reasonable accommodations" if requested by their handicapped residents. To some extent, this could apply to a pool or other recreational facilities. The body of law as to what constitutes a "reasonable accommodation" is far too voluminous to address here. Suffice it to say, however, that a landlord is not required to make such an accommodation (e.g. retrofitting the community's existing swimming pool) if the cost would impose an undue financial burden.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS Q & A SERVICE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED AS A BENEFIT FOR OUR MEMBERS. IT IS MADE AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES, AND DOES NOT REPRESENT, AND IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE, LEGAL ADVICE OR OPINION AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS SUCH. THE ANSWERS ARE SUMMARY IN NATURE, AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO ADDRESS ALL RELEVANT LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS OR SITUATIONS RELATING TO LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL LAW OR RELEVANT CASE HOLDINGS. IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC LEGAL ISSUE ON ANY MATTER, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR OWN ATTORNEY FAMILIAR WITH YOUR SPECIFIC FACTUAL SITUATION. MHCO DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE TO MEMBERS OR NON-MEMBERS. MHCO, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES AND ATTORNEYS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL RESPONSIBILITY RELATING TO THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS SERVICE. IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UP IN LIEU OF OBTAINING SPECIFIC ADVICE AND COUNSEL FROM YOUR OWN ATTORNEY.

Tenant Files

Before any tenant moves into your community the tenant's file should contain the following information:

  1. Completed Application
  2. Signed Rental Agreement. (Resident is to receive a copy)
  3. Signed Rules and Regulations (Resident is to receive a copy)
  4. Signed Statement of Policy including Rent History Addendum. (Tenant is to have received a copy of the Statement of Policy prior to signing rental agreement.)
  5. Copy of Homeowner's insurance policy with community named as an interested party (for the purpose of being notified of cancellation of insurance. (This is for pets only.)
  6. Credit check results
  7. Rental check results
  8. Criminal check results
  9. Application screening fee receipt
  10. Pet Agreement - Identify type of pet, name, size. You might consider taking a picture of the pet to include in your file in case you need to identify the pet in the future. Resident must sign the pet agreement. (Resident is to receive a copy)
  11. Proof of Age if 55 and older community (photo ID, driver's license)
  12. RV Storage Agreement. Identify type of RV (i.e. boat, camper, trailer, etc.) and include license number and description of recreational vehicle. (Resident is to receive a copy)

Any and all notices/correspondence between landlord/manager and resident 

Declaration of Non-Military, Not Minor or Incapacitated

QUESTION: We ran into a problem recently that we were hoping you could answer.  In Multnomah County, when we file an eviction ("FED"), we are required to file a document entitled "Declaration of Non-Military, Not Minor or Incapacitated." This form requires us to select one of the following categories regarding the defendant's protection under the Service Members Civil Relief Act ("SCRA" or "the Act"): (a) That the person is subject to protection, (b) that he/she is not subject to protection, or (c) that we are unable to determine whether the defendant is or is not subject to the Act.

We had checked the box saying we could not determine, and explained that "We have never seen any indication that this person is or was a service member."  The judge said this was insufficient and refused to grant the FED.  He told us to seek legal counsel.

Any ideas on what we did wrong or how to avoid this problem? I believe there is a web page where you can look up service members, but in this case we don't have a social security number on the resident, so we couldn't look him up anyway.

ANSWER: I've never heard of a judge denying a declaration because a landlord hadn't run the tenant's information through Act's website.  In order to do the search, you need the tenant's first and last name and SSN.  You can also put in their birth date, but I think the SSN gets the best results. The Act's database cannot complete the search if you don't have a SSN or birth date. I'm surprised that the judge didn't set over the hearing and simply direct the you to the website.  Perhaps you could have determined the answer if you had entered the birth date - assuming you had it.  I suspect the judge was new to the job.

Here's the link to their site: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/scraHome.do

When we don't have a SSN or birth date, we put a statement in the declaration similar to the one you used.  Basically, all you should need to do is show that you have conducted a reasonable investigation based upon the information you have, and that you have been unable to determine through the website or other evidence, that the person is protected by the Act. 

Here's an example that we've used at Multnomah County Circuit Court:

Due to lack of information, the Department of Defense's SCRA military records website could not confirm whether or not defendants, John and Mary Doe, are currently on active duty. It appears to be very unlikely, since the community managers see the defendants on a regular basis and have no knowledge of either of them serving in the United States Military.

The problem you describe only occurs when the defendant does not appear at the first appearance hearing and the judge is uncomfortable granting the judgment of restitution by default without what he/she feels is sufficient evidence that they are not on active duty with the military.  The rash of recent improper foreclosures against servicemen/women probably doesn't help the judge's comfort level.  The judge should have been more helpful, but you should be able to conduct your search on the website, then go back and try again.

I think the take-away here is that landlords should try to get as much information from their resident-applicants in order to avoid these situations in the future.

Security Deposits

A landlord may require the payment of a security deposit (ORS 90.295). The landlord may claim from the security deposit only the amount reasonably necessary to:

  1. Remedy the tenant's defaults in the performance of the rental agreement including but not limited to unpaid rent.
  2. To repair damages caused by the tenant and not caused by ordinary wear and tear.

A landlord may not claim any portion of the deposit due to the tenant/resident failure to maintain a minimum number of months in a month-to-month tenancy.

Upon termination of the tenancy, the landlord shall account for and refund to the tenant the unused balance of any prepaid rent. Within 31 days after the termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession the landlord shall give to the tenant a written accounting which states specifically the basis of the claim. The landlord shall give a separate accounting for security deposits. 

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