What late fees can a landlord charge in Oregon?

The fee itself must fit one of exactly three statutory molds — a reasonable flat charge (measured against what local landlords customarily charge) imposed once per period, a daily charge starting on day five capped at 6% of that flat amount per day, or 5% of the rent charged once per five-day block the rent stays delinquent. Landlords cannot pull an old late fee out of the next month's rent payment and then treat the rent as short, and unpaid late charges can only accrue simple interest at the state judgment rate. There is no fixed dollar cap, but a fee outside the three permitted structures is simply not collectible under ORS 90.260.

Oregon late fees at a glance

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Oregon Late Fee Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/late-fees/oregon/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

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Notes and caveats

• Day 4 is the trigger; a fee is possible from day 5 — ORS 90.260(1)(a) keys the charge to "the rent payment is not received by the fourth day of the weekly or monthly rental period," which is why the grace period is recorded as four days.
• The three fee structures are exclusive — there is no fourth "whatever the lease says" option — ORS 90.302 bars fees except as provided by statute, so a charge outside the three molds is not collectible.
• The written-agreement requirement is detailed — the rental agreement must be in writing and must state the tenant's obligation to pay a late charge, the type and amount of the charge, the date the rent is due and the date or day on which late charges become due (ORS 90.260(1)(b)).
• A landlord cannot take a late fee out of the next rent payment — a landlord "may not deduct a previously imposed late charge from a current or subsequent rental period rent payment." That matters because it blocks turning a fee dispute into a nonpayment eviction.
• Interest on unpaid late charges — unpaid late charges accrue simple interest only, at the ORS 82.010 judgment rate.
• HB 2134 (2025) is adjacent, not a late-fee change — that bill, effective January 1, 2026, added ORS 90.372: when a landlord gives notice under ORS 90.427(5) ending a fixed-term tenancy at or after the end of the term, the tenant may end the tenancy early on at least 30 days' written notice, and the landlord may not then charge the ORS 90.302(2)(e) early-termination fee or collect rent for the period after the termination date and the tenant's return of possession. It does not change ORS 90.260.
• A landlord who refuses a check loses the late fee — Since June 5, 2026 a landlord must let a tenant pay by check or another commercially reasonable method, and may not require payment by debit card, credit card, electronic check, a tenant portal or any other electronic form. A landlord who refuses a payment the tenant offers that way may not charge a late fee for it and may not end the tenancy for nonpayment of that rent or charge. This applies to rental agreements entered into before, on or after that date. The late-fee section itself, ORS 90.260, was not changed in 2026 (Oregon Laws 2026, chapter 23, section 3).
• A late utility or service charge is a different fee — The three structures above govern late rent. Paying a utility or service charge late is treated separately: it is one of eight listed rule violations for which a landlord may charge a noncompliance fee, and the fee is available only for a second or later violation that happens within one year after a written warning notice describing the specific conduct and the amount of the fee. The fee may not exceed $50 for a second violation, or $50 plus five percent of that rental period's rent for a third or later one. The landlord must send a written notice describing the violation when charging the fee, must act within thirty days of the conduct, may not both charge the fee and end the tenancy for the same violation, and may not take the fee out of a current or later rent payment. A landlord who charges a fee the statute does not allow owes the tenant twice the tenant's actual damages or $300, whichever is greater (ORS 90.302(3), (8)).
• Card and portal processing fees can be passed on only on conditions — Since June 5, 2026 a landlord may pass through to the tenant the processing fees the landlord is charged for a payment the tenant makes by credit or debit card, through a tenant portal, or by other electronic means, but only if the payment processing company allows the fee to be passed to the payer, the landlord also lets the tenant pay by a non-electronic means, and the landlord makes the records of the fees charged and passed through available to the tenant on written request within a reasonable time (ORS 90.302(7)(d), as rewritten by Oregon Laws 2026, chapter 23, section 5).

Common questions: Oregon late fees

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

Is there a legal limit on late fees in Oregon?

No dollar cap — instead one of exactly three exclusive fee structures under ORS 90.260(2), and a charge outside them is not collectible. For the flat-fee option, 'reasonable amount' is statutorily defined as the customary amount charged by landlords for that rental market (ORS 90.260(2)(a)) — a market-comparison test, not open-ended.

Is there a grace period before rent is late in Oregon?

4 days.

Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in Oregon?

Yes — in Oregon a late fee must be stated in the lease.

Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in Oregon?

Yes. A reasonable per-day charge may begin on the fifth day of the rental period for which rent is delinquent, but each day's charge may not exceed 6% of the reasonable flat fee described in ORS 90.260(2)(a).

Citations

• ORS 90.260 · (1)-(2) (verified 2026) Official source
• Oregon Laws 2026, chapter 23, section 3 (Senate Bill 1523) — payment methods and late fees · sec. 3 (verified 2026) Official source
• Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.302 (fees allowed for certain landlord expenses; noncompliance fees; tenant remedies) · (3), (7)(d), (8) (verified 2026) Official source
• Oregon Laws 2026, chapter 23 (SB 1523), § 5 (amending ORS 90.302(7)(d)) · § 5 (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Oregon Legislature site (oregonlegislature.gov) on October 1, 2026: ORS chapters 90, 91, 105 and 19 in the 2025 Edition, which takes in the 2025 regular session. The 2026 regular session's changes were read in the session laws themselves (Oregon Laws 2026, chapters 23, 60, 61 and 108), with the Legislature's tables of sections amended for the 2025 regular session, the 2025 special session and the 2026 regular session. Key numbers read: 31-day deposit return, 2x penalty, 4th-day late-fee grace, 6%/day and 5%/5-day fee caps, 24 hours' actual notice, 90-day increase notice, first-year bar, once-per-12-months limit, 15-year exemption, 3-months-rent penalty, lesser-of-10%-or-7%+CPI formula. The annually published cap was read on the Department of Administrative Services Office of Economic Analysis rent-stabilization page, in its press releases and in its calculation workbooks: 9.5% for calendar 2026 (West Region CPI change of 2.5%) and 10% for calendar 2027 (press release of September 28, 2026).