Oregon security deposit law

Oregon state law does not cap the amount of a security deposit. A written rental agreement must list any deposit the tenant paid or the landlord requires, and you must give the tenant a receipt for it. A last month's rent deposit counts as a security deposit.

ORS 90.300

• You may not charge a pet deposit for a service or companion animal that a tenant with a disability needs as a reasonable accommodation. ORS 90.300(4)
• During the first year of the tenancy you may not change the agreement to require a new or larger deposit, except an added deposit tied to an agreed change such as allowing a pet. After the first year, give the tenant at least three months to pay a new or increased deposit. ORS 90.300(5)
• Apply a last month's rent deposit to the last month's rent when either side gives a termination notice (other than a nonpayment notice), when you both agree to end the tenancy, or when a fixed term ends under the written agreement. ORS 90.300(9)
• Portland limits deposits to one month's rent, or half a month on top of a last month's rent deposit, plus up to half a month more when you conditionally approve an applicant, which the tenant may pay in installments over up to three months. Portland City Code 30.01.087(A) See Rent control and local rules on the Oregon page

Within 31 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession, give the tenant a written accounting that states specifically the basis of any claim against the deposit or prepaid rent, and return the rest. Give separate accountings for the deposit and for prepaid rent. You may keep only the amount reasonably necessary to cover the tenant's defaults under the agreement, including unpaid rent, and to repair damage the tenant caused, not ordinary wear and tear.

ORS 90.300(12) ORS 90.300(13) ORS 90.300(7) ORS 90.300(16)

• Deliver the accounting or the refund in person or by first class mail, or by e-mail only if a signed e-mail addendum allows it. A refund may go electronically to the tenant's bank only under an addendum signed after the tenancy began and the tenant moved in. ORS 90.300(13) ORS 90.300(14) ORS 90.155(1)(d)
• If you miss the deadline, or withhold in bad faith, the tenant may recover twice the amount withheld without a written accounting or withheld in bad faith. ORS 90.300(16)
• You need not make a repair before charging for it. Labor must be billed at a reasonable hourly rate, and you may charge a reasonable rate for your own cleaning or repair work. ORS 90.300(7)(b)
• Machine carpet cleaning may be deducted only if the carpet was cleaned or replaced before the tenant moved in and the written agreement says the cost may be deducted whether or not the tenant cleans it. ORS 90.300(7)(c)
• Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is responsible for the deposit, including a new owner. ORS 90.300(2)(b)
• Possession is delivered back when the tenant gives actual notice of giving up the unit (returning the keys can show it), or when you reasonably believe the tenant has left after a notice or term expires, or you reasonably know the unit was abandoned. ORS 90.147(2)
• A deposit may not be forfeited for failing to stay a minimum number of months in a month-to-month tenancy. ORS 90.300(8)

Oregon state law does not require you to keep deposits in a separate account or to pay interest on them. You must hold the deposit for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it comes ahead of your creditors, including a bankruptcy trustee.

ORS 90.300(2)(a)

• A deposit or prepaid rent in the landlord's hands cannot be garnished by the landlord's creditors. ORS 90.300(17)
• Portland requires deposits in a separate account within two weeks, pays any interest earned to the tenant, and requires the rental agreement to name the bank. Portland City Code 30.01.087(B) See Rent control and local rules on the Oregon page

Oregon's residential landlord and tenant law does not require a move-in inspection or a written condition checklist. Because you may deduct only for damage the tenant caused beyond ordinary wear and tear, a dated record of the home's condition at move-in is your best evidence.

ORS 90.300(7) ORS 90.320

• To deduct carpet cleaning, the carpet must have been cleaned or replaced before this tenant took possession. ORS 90.300(7)(c)(A)
• The buildings and grounds must be safe, clean and free of debris, rodents and vermin when the rental agreement begins. ORS 90.320(1)(f)
• Portland requires a signed condition report with photos before move-in, a seven-day window for the tenant to add to it, and a final walk-through within a week after the tenancy ends. Portland City Code 30.01.087(D) See Rent control and local rules on the Oregon page