Tenant denies receipt of pay or quit notice

[Lucas Amuchastegui]

Hi there,

I'm in Oregon and I sent my tenant a 72 hour notice 5 days ago via first class priority mail with tracking. In Oregon, you have to allow 3 extra days for mailed notices. Tenant now says she hasn't received the notice in the mail. I did send her a photograph of the signed notice with time and date of mailing and the address to which it was sent. USPS shows that the letter was delivered. USPS tracking doesn't list the delivery address online, but says it was delivered and lists the correct town and zip code. She has until 5 PM tomorrow to pay or the lease is terminated, according to the notice. Is the evidence that I have sufficient to show in eviction court that she did receive the notice and is either lying or threw it out or something? 

Thanks so much. This is my first eviction process and I'm hoping to have all my ducks in a row.

[Lucas Amuchastegui]

Thank you guys for the replies. My understanding is that mail requiring signed receipt can be problematic because the tenant can just pretend not to be home and then it gets returned and is invalidated. Is that true?

I didn’t post a letter on the door, but will be doing that with important notices in the future. My own llc is managing the property. We’re a small business with 11 units. In Oregon, statutes say that first class mail alone is an acceptable method of notification. I’m curious how high the burden of proof is.  Maybe it just depends on the individual judge and circumstances.