Best way to evict a problematic tenant in Oregon?

Question

They leave oil stains by their garage without cleaning up.

The other tenants say they leave trash lying around all the time, and that they leave their vehicles parked in a way that gets in the way of the other tenants' driveways.

They have what appears to be a non-working vehicle parked on the property.

There have been reports of physical fighting going on in their garage and in their unit, but all the tenants of that unit "consent" to it, according to the records, so there's no "abuse" technically.

They have a dog in their unit without any deposit or any paperwork that proves it is a service animal. I set a date for them to pay their dog deposit by, and it's about to be due, but they haven't paid it.

What's the best way to go about all this? I already gave them one warning about all of the above items ("excessive noise", unauthorized pet, parking violations, trash, all in one warning).

I don't want to run into any legal issues about this, so I'm curious what the best plan would be.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

You have to learn how to run this like a business. When you set a rule and the tenants refuse to comply, then you should have a process for notifying them of the violation and penalties to bring them back into compliance or remove them for the violations.

1. Send a written warning detailing the violations. If able, reference the specific section of the lease they've violated for each infraction. If the violation is blatant (e.g. the unregistered dog) then let them know what they owe for the violation.

2. Give them a deadline for correcting the violation. Check state laws but typically 7 - 14 days is sufficient. I only give 72 hours for an unauthorized animal or person.

3. Conduct a follow-up inspection to confirm they're back in compliance. If they are, your work is done and you just keep an eye on it. If not, then you hit them with a termination notice (check state laws).

If they are a decent renter and there's just 1-2 small violations, I'll call and give a verbal. Most people respond to that and get on track. If there are multiple violations or they are egregious (unauthorized animal, trashing the property, etc.) then I will hit them with a formal, written warning. If they don't correct, I don't bother with a second or third warning and move right to termination.

Ellie Narie · Answer

Update: Just got a notice from the city that we (the owners) need to remove the trash by a certain date, because it's a public safety violation.

I assume we are finally able to remove the tenant's trash legally? Are there any legal complications we could run into?

Jeffrey Donis · Answer

@Ellie Narie If there's any clause of your lease agreement they have violated (which I'm sure there is), then they are in breach of it. Therefore, you have grounds to evict them. However, I'm not sure how feasible an eviction is in Oregon right now.

An idea could be cash for keys? You could give them enough notice, and some cash in exchange for them willingly vacating the property? I've heard this has worked for other landlords, though I've never done it.

Good luck!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I don't know the laws well enough, but I probably wouldn't even mention the rent. Focus on getting them out for the lease violations. Use the deposit to recover as much as possible, then start fresh. You may lose a little, but you'll keep your sanity!

Ellie Narie · Answer

Yeah, that's what I might end up doing.

I have another question - would issuing them a 72 hour notice for non-payment somehow mess with the 30 day notice in any way?

They haven't paid their rent, and it's the 8th day, so it's time to issue the 72 hour notice. However, Oregon has the safe harbor rule, which means they can apply for rental assistance and not get evicted for non-payment for 60 days. If the courts take a while to evict them, and if they submit the proof of application for rental assistance, would that somehow mess up my opportunity to send them a 30-day no cause?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Based on what you're sharing, I wouldn't bother with trying to bring them into compliance. It will probably just kick the can down the road, stress you out, or exacerbate the problems.

If you state allows you to terminate with 30 days notice, just do that. If that doesn't work, start the eviction process.

Try to keep the notice short, factual, unemotional, and professional. Example:

Dear Renters,

Due to multiple lease violations and complaints from neighbors, we hereby notify you that your lease will terminate at midnight, August 15, 2021. We expect you to return the unit in the same condition it was received. Please leave the keys on the counter and call/text me at [NUMBER] so I can retrieve the keys and conduct the move-out inspection. I will also need a forwarding address to mail any refund of the deposit.

Best regards,

Landlord

I usually don't bother with listing the violations because they probably already know and will just try arguing anyway.

Ellie Narie · Answer

I posted a written warning on their door a couple of weeks ago, detailing everything. They still haven't paid their dog deposit even though they had 14 days from the date of the warning to pay it.

I'm afraid that they'll "just say" that they'll get rid of the dog, and not actually do it.

I've never evicted anyone before, but I'm receiving a lot of complaints about them and they break a lot of lease violations, so I need them to go.

I also found out that I could do a 30 day no cause notice, since they're within their first year of occupancy. I'm not sure if I should do this instead of trying to evict them. The problem I see with evictions is that I would need a lot of evidence to present to the courts, and I'm not really sure how to go about providing sufficient evidence.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Start by talking to them and explain that even with the warning, things are not improving and then serve them with notice to cure.  Explain that if they don't follow the terms of the lease which includes quiet enjoyment for the other tenants that they are in violation of their lease and need to move or you will start the eviction process.

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

@Ellie Narie Oregon is known to be 'over the top' tenant friendly. I'd be talking it over with an experienced REI attorney. All the best!

Best way to evict a problematic tenant in Oregon?

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