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.

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).

What late fees can a landlord charge in Oregon?

Verified July 9, 2026 All Oregon topics →

Oregon gives tenants a statutory four-day grace period: a landlord may not charge a late fee unless rent is still unpaid after the fourth day of the rental period, and the fee must be spelled out in a written rental agreement.

Cited to ORS 90.260 (1)-(2) and 1 more Oregon statute · Verified July 9, 2026

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

Statutory cap	No dollar cap — instead one of exactly three exclusive fee structures under ORS 90.260(2), and a charge outside them is not collectible The three structures are: (a) a reasonable flat amount charged once per rental period, 'reasonable' meaning the customary amount charged by landlords for that rental market; (b) a reasonable per-day charge beginning on the fifth day of the rental period, capped at 6% of the paragraph-(a) flat amount per day; or (c) 5% of the periodic rent payment, charged once for each succeeding five-day period (or portion) the rent remains delinquent.
Mandatory grace period	4 days
Must be in the lease	Yes
Daily fees	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). It is one of the three statutory fee structures; a charge outside those three is not collectible.
Reasonableness standard	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.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Oregon Late Fee Laws (verified July 9, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/late-fees/oregon/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Oregon statute in the citations section below.

Check a late fee against the Oregon rules — free, no signup, built on the same verified Oregon rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

Day 4 is the trigger; a fee is possible from day 5 — ORS 90.260(1)(b) 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 cover the obligation itself, the type and amount of the charge, and the date the rent is due (ORS 90.260(1)(a), (c)).
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, touches the ORS 90.427 lease-break fees — it does not change ORS 90.260.
Nothing in the 2026 short session touched ORS 90.260 — the late-fee section came through the session unchanged.
Both hosts carry the same numbers — the official statute text and the OregonLaws mirror state the fourth-day trigger and the 6% and 5% ceilings in identical terms.

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).

Statute citations

ORS 90.260 (1)-(2) (verified 2026) Official source
ORS 90.260 (section text on OregonLaws mirror) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror

How this record was verified: Dual-host reads of statute text: official Oregon Legislature ORS chapter pages (oregonlegislature.gov ors090.html and ors091.html) plus the oregon.public.law mirror (current through the 2023 ORS edition and 2024 session), with verbatim re-reads of ORS 90.323(2)-(6) and 90.324(1)-(2). Every key number (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) was read on both hosts. The annually-published cap figure was verified on the official DAS Office of Economic Analysis rent-stabilization page (read twice independently) and cross-confirmed against the DAS newsroom press releases of 2025-09-30 and the 2025-10-01 correction: 9.5% for calendar 2026 (CPI-U West Region September 12-month average of 2.5%). 2026 short-session sweep via the Oregon Real Estate Agency's official 2026 Legislative Update: SB 1523, HB 4120, HB 4123 all enacted, none changes a v1 field.