Landlord Atlas

Portland, Oregon: Rent Control (none; barred by state law)

Verified September 16, 2026 All Oregon topics →

Portland has no rent control of its own and cannot adopt one: ORS 91.225 has barred Oregon cities and counties from controlling the rent charged for a dwelling unit since 1985.

Cited to ORS 91.225 (local rent control prohibited; exclusions; exceptions) and 17 more sources · Verified September 16, 2026

Rent increases in Portland are capped by state law instead. ORS 90.323 bars any increase in the first year of a tenancy, allows one increase per 12-month period after that, requires 90 days' notice, and limits the increase to the lesser of 10% or 7% plus inflation, with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services setting the exact percentage for the year ahead by September 30: 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. Guides that call Portland rent-controlled are wrong, and guides that say Portland adds nothing to state law are also wrong. From the first day of a tenancy the city requires 90 days' notice to end it and a relocation payment of $2,900 to $4,500 to the tenant, requires the same 90 days' notice and, at 10% or more, the same payment on request for a rent increase, caps security deposits, sets detailed application and screening requirements, bars rent-setting software that draws on competitors' data, and requires every rental unit to be registered with the Revenue Division.

Current published figures

Figure Value Applies to Source
Maximum annual rent increase, statewide 9.5% (the lesser of 10% or 7% plus inflation) January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 Official source
Maximum annual rent increase, statewide 10% (the lesser of 10% or 7% plus inflation; 7% plus inflation came to 10.1%) January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027 Official source
Maximum annual rent increase, manufactured dwelling park or marina spaces in a facility with more than 30 spaces 6% January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 Official source
Maximum annual rent increase, manufactured dwelling park or marina spaces in a facility with more than 30 spaces 6% January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027 Official source
Portland rent levels that set how much income a landlord may require $1,797 studio, $1,925 one-bedroom, $2,310 two-bedroom, $2,669 three-bedroom, $2,977 four-bedroom, $3,285 five-bedroom (below the figure a landlord may require 2.5 times the rent in monthly gross income; at or above it, 2 times) May 15, 2026 until replaced in spring 2027 Official source
Residential rental registration fee, per unit $70 Tax year 2025 Official source

These figures change on a published cycle; each row states the window it applies to and links the source that published it. Confirm the current figure at the source before acting on it.

What is in force

Portland has no rent control or rent stabilization of its own, and Oregon law does not let it adopt one. ORS 91.225, in force since 1985, says the imposition of rent control is a matter of statewide concern and that a city or county may not enact any ordinance or resolution which controls the rent that may be charged for the rental of any dwelling unit. The section applies throughout the state, and a city may not enforce anything inconsistent with it. What limits rent increases in Portland is state law instead: ORS 90.323 bars any increase during the first year of a tenancy, allows only one increase in any 12-month period after that, requires 90 days' written notice, and caps the increase at the lesser of 10% or 7% plus inflation. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services calculates that percentage for the following calendar year by September 30 each year; it is 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. There is no vacancy control: neither the state cap nor any Portland ordinance limits the rent set for a new tenancy after a tenant moves out. What Portland does add, and adds from the first day of a tenancy, is a 90-day notice floor for ending a tenancy, a relocation payment of $2,900 to $4,500 that the landlord owes the tenant, and detailed screening and security deposit requirements.

What housing is covered

The state ban on local rent control reaches every city and county in Oregon. Three narrow exceptions let a government limit rent in specific situations, and none of them gives Portland a general power to cap rent: a city, county, state agency or urban renewal agency may reserve the right to approve rents on property it has given benefits to for the express purpose of producing reduced rents for low-income tenants; a condominium conversion ordinance may limit increases during the notification period; and a city, county or state agency may impose temporary rent controls after a natural or man-made disaster that wipes out a significant part of the rental housing supply, which must be removed once supply returns to normal. The state cap covers most Portland rentals but not all. The percentage limit does not apply where the first certificate of occupancy for the unit was issued less than 15 years before the date of the increase notice, or where the unit is government-regulated or certified affordable housing and the change does not raise the tenant's own share or is required by program eligibility or a change in the tenant's income. Week-to-week tenancies get 7 days' notice instead, and spaces rented in a manufactured dwelling park or marina fall under a separate state section with its own annual figure. Portland's own relocation payment applies to every tenancy covered by the state landlord-tenant act inside the city limits, with no unit-count, construction-date or owner-occupancy threshold, but the code lists 12 exemptions, and most of them only work if the landlord has filed an exemption application with the Portland Housing Bureau, received an acknowledgement letter, and given the tenant a copy. The 12 are week-to-week tenancies; a tenant sharing the unit with the landlord; one unit of a duplex where the landlord lives in the other; an accessory dwelling unit where the owner lives on the site, in either direction; a landlord temporarily renting out a principal residence for no more than three years; the same during active-duty military service; a termination so an immediate family member can move in; government-regulated or certified affordable housing, for rent increases only and not for terminations, and never for a market-rate unit rented to a voucher holder; a unit covered by and complying with the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970; a unit made immediately uninhabitable through no fault of landlord or tenant; a unit rented for less than six months with a demolition permit already submitted; and a fixed-term tenancy where the tenant was told before moving in that the landlord intended to sell or convert the unit. Filing is waived for the first, second, eighth, ninth and tenth of those. For the duplex and accessory dwelling unit exemptions the acknowledgement letter must reach the tenant before the tenant signs.

Eviction and termination rules

Portland does not add local grounds for eviction, but it does make ending a tenancy slower and more expensive than state law does, from the first day of the tenancy. A landlord may end a rental agreement without cause, or for a qualifying landlord reason under state law, only with at least 90 days' written notice, or the longer period the rental agreement sets (Portland City Code 30.01.085.B). State law would allow 30 days during the first year of occupancy; in Portland it is 90 days from the start. Declining to renew or replace an expiring agreement counts as a termination. At least 45 days before the termination date the landlord must pay the tenant relocation assistance of $2,900 for a studio or single room occupancy unit, $3,300 for a one-bedroom, $4,200 for a two-bedroom and $4,500 for a three-bedroom or larger. The payment is per unit, not per tenant, and a single rented bedroom counts as a single room occupancy unit. Every termination notice, increase notice and relocation payment must carry a description of the tenant's rights and obligations and the amount of relocation assistance owed, and the landlord must tell the Portland Housing Bureau about every payment within 30 days of making it. A landlord who fails to comply owes the tenant up to three times the monthly rent plus actual damages, relocation assistance, attorney fees and costs, and the tenant may sue. State law adds a separate payment of its own: a landlord ending a tenancy for one of the qualifying landlord reasons must pay one month's rent when the notice is delivered, unless the landlord has an ownership interest in four or fewer rental units. Where both payments are owed for the same notice, Portland's code lets the city payment be reduced by the state payment if the two are paid at the same time as a single payment, so a larger landlord pays the city amount rather than both. Since September 26, 2025 state law has let a landlord selling to an owner-occupant give 60 days' notice instead of 90 if the tenant is paid an extra month's rent, but the Portland Housing Bureau states that the shorter notice is not available inside the city limits because the city code already applies. One further state law helps a tenant who receives a qualifying-reason notice ending a fixed term: under ORS 90.372 the tenant may give 30 days' notice of their own, may leave during the fixed term, and the landlord may not charge a lease termination fee or collect rent accruing after the date in that notice once possession is returned.

Other requirements

Portland regulates a great deal about renting other than the amount of rent. Rent increases: a landlord may not raise rent or associated housing costs by 5% or more over a rolling 12-month period without at least 90 days' written notice, or the longer period the rental agreement sets, stating the amount of the increase, the new amount and the effective date (Portland City Code 30.01.085.C). If the increase is 10% or more over a rolling 12-month period, the tenant has 45 calendar days to ask for relocation assistance in writing, and the landlord must pay within 31 calendar days, at the same amounts of $2,900 to $4,500. The tenant then has six months from the effective date of the increase either to repay the money and stay, paying the higher rent for the rest of the tenancy, or to give notice ending the tenancy. A tenant may receive and keep relocation assistance once per tenancy per unit. Conditioning a renewal on an increase of 10% or more counts, and so does refusing to renew on substantially the same terms except for the rent. The expiration of a rent concession written into the agreement does not count as a substantial change. Screening: if a unit is advertised, the notice must be published at least 72 hours before applications open and must say when they open, what factors will be considered if a screening fee is charged, and whether the unit is an accessible unit (30.01.086). Applications are time-stamped and must be accepted, conditionally accepted or denied in the order received, with anything sent early treated as arriving eight hours after the open period starts. A landlord may not reject an application as incomplete for want of a Social Security number or proof of lawful presence, and may not ask about a household member's immigration status. A landlord may require monthly gross income of at most 2.5 times the rent where the rent is below the figure the Portland Housing Bureau publishes for that bedroom count, and at most 2 times the rent at or above it, counting all of the applicants' income together and subtracting any voucher or subsidy; a friend or family guarantor may not be required to show income above 3 times the rent. A landlord either uses criteria no more restrictive than the low-barrier criteria the code lists, or uses their own and carries out an individual assessment of the applicant before any denial. A decision must be given in writing within two weeks. Screening fees may not exceed what the screening company charges, or that cost plus 25% where the landlord does part of the work, or 10% above the market cost where the landlord does all of it. A denied applicant gets 30 days to appeal, and a successful appeal prequalifies them at that landlord's Portland properties for three months with the screening fee waived. A landlord who breaks these requirements owes up to $250 per violation plus actual damages and fees. Security deposits: if the deposit includes last month's rent, no more than an extra half month's rent may be taken as a deposit; otherwise the limit is one month's rent; a conditional approval after screening allows one further half month, which the tenant may pay in installments over up to three months (30.01.087). Deposits go into a separate account within two weeks, the agreement must name the bank and say whether the account bears interest, and any interest goes to the tenant less an optional 5% for administration. Deductions are limited to items itemized in the rental agreement and may not cover routine maintenance, ordinary wear and tear, or costs covered by insurance or a warranty; flooring charges are limited to the affected area and interior painting may not be charged except for specific damage or unauthorized painting by the tenant. A signed and photographed condition report is required before move-in, the tenant has seven days to file an addendum and the landlord seven days to dispute it, and a final inspection follows within a week of the tenancy ending, on 24 hours' notice and in the tenant's presence if the tenant chooses. Labor charges above $200 need documentation that the rate is typical for the region. Within five business days of a request, or of either side giving notice to end the tenancy, the landlord must provide a written rent payment history covering up to the prior two years and the Portland Housing Bureau's rental history form. Breaches carry up to $250 per violation plus actual damages and fees. Rent-setting software: since February 17, 2026 it has been unlawful in Portland to set a unit's rent, lease terms or occupancy level using any system, software, algorithm or similar method that draws on prices, supply, occupancy, lease terms or renewal dates for units with different beneficial owners, or to use any service that does so (30.01.088). Market research, appraisals, feasibility studies, routine management and purely public-data analysis are outside it, as are owners of five or fewer units, government-regulated affordable housing, and contracts signed before the effective date. Damages are the greater of actual damages or $300 per violation for owners of 6 to 15 units, and the greater of treble damages or $1,000 per violation for owners of 16 or more, with each month a rent is charged counting separately; the City Attorney may investigate, issue subpoenas and seek penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. Registration: Portland has no rental license or inspection program, but every owner of a residential rental unit in the city must register each unit and file an annual schedule of addresses with the Revenue Division, on Schedule R attached to the combined Portland and Multnomah County business tax return, generally due April 15 (City Code 7.02.890). The fee is charged per unit and was $70 for tax year 2025. Owners who rent only the space for a manufactured dwelling, recreational vehicle or floating home are exempt, as are units regulated or certified as affordable to households at or below 60% of median family income.

Notes and caveats

Citations

This page records local law. Statewide laws — deposits, notice periods, late fees, entry, evictions — live on the Oregon hub, and the state-level position on local rent regulation appears there with its own citations and verification date.