Oregon’s rules, briefly
Oregon sets the notices and the court clock. Nonpayment needs a 10-day or 13-day notice under ORS 90.394 plus the state rental assistance notice, after the first year of occupancy you need tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason under ORS 90.427, and only a judgment enforced by the sheriff can remove anyone. Our Oregon eviction process guide covers those deadlines step by step.
Portland doesn’t change the cause rules. It changes what an owner pays and how much notice an owner gives when the tenant hasn’t done anything wrong, and Multnomah County shapes how the court case actually runs.
When Portland’s relocation payment applies
Portland City Code 30.01.085 applies to rental agreements covered by Oregon’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. It triggers in three situations, and none of them is a nonpayment or lease-violation eviction.
- No-cause or qualifying landlord reason. You must give at least 90 days’ written notice, or the period in the rental agreement if longer, and pay relocation assistance at least 45 days before the termination date.
- Declining to renew. Not renewing or replacing an expiring fixed-term lease counts as a termination, and under the rent-increase subsection, refusing to renew on the same terms except for the rent is treated as a termination too.
- Rent increase of 10% or more. Any increase of 5% or more in a rolling 12 months needs 90 days’ notice. If an increase reaches 10% and the tenant asks in writing within 45 days, you pay relocation within 31 days, and the tenant has six months to either repay it and stay or give notice and move.
How much Portland relocation assistance costs
The amounts are set per dwelling unit, not per tenant, and a tenant can receive and keep them only once per tenancy.
You must include a description of the tenant’s rights and the eligible amount with every termination notice, increase notice and relocation payment. Within 30 days of any payment, you must also notify the Portland Housing Bureau (PHB).
| Unit size | Relocation payment |
|---|---|
| Studio or SRO | $2,900 |
| One bedroom | $3,300 |
| Two bedrooms | $4,200 |
| Three bedrooms or more | $4,500 |
Exemptions need paperwork from PHB
The exemptions are narrow, and most don’t fit a 5+ unit building. They cover week-to-week tenancies, tenants who share the owner’s unit, the second half of an owner-occupied duplex, certain accessory units, an owner’s temporarily rented principal residence, termination so an immediate family member can move in, certain regulated affordable units for rent increases, and a few others.
An exemption only works if you submit PHB’s exemption application, receive an acknowledgment letter and give the tenant a copy. Hiring a licensed property manager who runs many units doesn’t cost a small owner its exemption.
Skipping any requirement in 30.01.085 makes you liable to the tenant for up to three times the monthly rent plus actual damages, the relocation payment itself and attorney fees.
Multnomah County Circuit Court: where and when
Portland evictions are filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Hearings are held at the Central Courthouse downtown or the East County Courthouse in Gresham, depending on the zip code of the rental. Several East Portland zip codes, including 97216, 97220, 97230, 97233, 97236 and 97266, go to Gresham, and the court won’t accept a summons that lists the wrong appearance location.
Once the clerk accepts the filing, the court sets a first appearance, typically 7 to 14 days out or 15 to 21 days for certain nonpayment cases. The landlord must have the papers served by the next judicial day, can’t serve them personally, and must file proof of service before the first appearance. The court doesn’t hand service copies to the sheriff or a process server for you.
Since January 13, 2025, first appearances start at 8:45 a.m. at both courthouses. Parties can appear remotely, but attorneys must appear in person. If both sides show up, the judge may ask them to try to reach an agreement before setting trial, and trial is in person.
Multnomah County practices that surprise owners
The court’s own landlord guidance says eviction court is not where you collect back rent or damages. You file a separate civil case for amounts over $10,000 or a small claims case for $10,000 or less. Plan your rent recovery as a second track.
Forms changed on August 1, 2026. New provisions in Uniform Trial Court Rules chapter 18 require the complaint to be substantially in the Oregon Judicial Department form, with a caption box showing whether the case falls under ORS chapter 90, and require judgments to state that finding and the outcome for each named defendant. The Judicial Department adopted them so courts can identify cases eligible for sealing under ORS 105.164, and attorney-drafted pleadings that don’t conform risk rejection.
Settlements are common, and the court spells out how they work. Even if you and the tenant agree before the first appearance, you both still appear so the judge can sign a stipulated order or judgment. If the tenant keeps a stipulated order, the case is dismissed. If the tenant breaks it, you file a declaration of noncompliance with a notice of restitution and ask for a judgment of restitution, without starting over. Write payment dates and move-out dates into the agreement so a missed date is easy to prove.
If the tenant loses at trial and appeals to the Court of Appeals, the court’s guidance points to a $500 bond on appeal alongside a motion for supersedeas undertaking.
Judgment, notice of restitution and the sheriff
A judgment for return of the premises is valid for 60 days, and the clerk must issue the notice of restitution within that window. You can’t serve it yourself. After the final move-out deadline passes, you request the writ of execution, which the clerk issues and you schedule with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. A writ that isn’t served and enforced within 30 days expires.
The sheriff’s civil unit charges $50 to serve eviction papers such as a notice of restitution on one or two parties at the same address, and $89 to execute a writ of execution of a judgment of restitution, plus the notice fees. That is $139 for a simple case. The office also warns that low staffing is delaying service, so start the request as soon as the clerk issues each document.
Worked example: renovating units in a 16-unit building
Assume a 16-unit building in Southeast Portland where you plan to renovate a two-bedroom renting for $1,850 that will be unfit for occupancy during the work. The tenant has been there three years, so Oregon requires 90 days’ notice under ORS 90.427 and, because you own more than four units, one month’s rent, $1,850, paid when you deliver the notice. Portland adds $4,200 for a two-bedroom.
Portland lets you reduce its payment by the state payment if you pay both at the same time as a single payment. Pay $4,200 with the notice and you’ve met both rules. Pay them separately and the bill is $6,050.
Scale that to four units, two two-bedrooms and two one-bedrooms at $1,650. A single combined payment per unit costs $15,000. Paying the state and city amounts separately costs $22,000, so the timing decision alone is worth $7,000. Then report every payment to PHB within 30 days. Skip a step and the exposure per unit starts at three months’ rent, $5,550 on the two-bedroom, before damages and fees.
| Scenario | State payment | City payment | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 2BR, single payment | $1,850 | $2,350 | $4,200 |
| One 2BR, paid separately | $1,850 | $4,200 | $6,050 |
| Four units, single payments | Included | Included | $15,000 |
| Four units, paid separately | $7,000 | $15,000 | $22,000 |
Screening the next tenant under Portland’s FAIR rules
Portland’s Fair Access in Renting rules, PCC 30.01.086 on screening and 30.01.087 on security deposits, govern how you refill a unit after an eviction. Among other limits, you can’t deny an applicant over an eviction judgment entered less than three years before the application if it came from a no-cause termination, or if it was a default and the applicant shows they had already moved out when the case was served.
Since February 17, 2026, PCC 30.01.088 also bars setting rents or occupancy levels with shared competitor data or algorithmic pricing tools, which matters if you plan to reprice a vacated unit with software. Statewide rent increase caps apply on top of Portland’s notice rules, and our guide to selling a rent-controlled building in Oregon explains how they affect value.
Selling a Portland building with tenants in place
Many Portland owners sell before they start a relocation-heavy plan. A buyer takes the building with its leases, open cases and any PHB exemption history, and the relocation math becomes the buyer’s problem. Bring the rent roll, notices served, any relocation payments and PHB reports, and estoppel certificates if you have them.
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Portland and throughout Oregon, occupied and in any condition, including buildings with problem tenants or a pending eviction. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
