With Oregon’s numerous bays and waterways, floating home marinas are a popular living choice for many people. By statute, floating homes are treated similarly to mobile homes with regard to landlord-tenant issues. A “floating home” is defined by statute as “a moored structure that is secured to a pier or pilings and is used primarily as a domicile and not as a boat.” Under Oregon case law, a boat can be considered a “floating home” if it is primarily used as a residence and n

Nearly every eviction begins with an eviction notice, which must be properly served on the tenant. Most notices give the tenant a certain amount of time to remedy a default (i.e., 72 hours to pay past-due rent), followed by a tenancy termination deadline if the default isn't remedied. Other notices can't be remedied (i.e., a 24-hour notice for outrageous conduct) and simply inform the tenant that they must vacate by a certain time and date. After an eviction notice expires an

Filing the Initial “FED” The term "FED" stands for Forcible Entry and Detainer. This is the legal term for an eviction lawsuit filed in court to evict tenants. In every case where the tenant refuses to vacate, the landlord will need to file an FED action to evict the tenant. The FED must be filed in the circuit court of the county where the landlord’s rental property is located. If the tenant refuses to vacate or otherwise fails to comply with a tenancy termination notice, th

Every landlord should have a good set of forms to use for issuing notices to tenants. The best place to get them is usually a landlord trade association. A few of the more prominent associations include the Manufactured Housing Communities of Oregon (MHCO), Multi-Family NW, and the Rental Housing Alliance - Oregon. The legal publishing company of Stevens-Ness also provides a good selection of some basic landlord forms. However, a form is only as good as the person filling it

Oregon state law allows a landlord to ask potential applicants about their credit history, eviction records, criminal records, employment, landlord references, number of occupants, and pets. A well-written rental application should ask applicants to provide information in each of these areas. The application should also include a clause stating that the applicant vouches for the truthfulness of all information provided, that the landlord is substantially relying on the inform

Every commercial lease contract will have default provisions that will allow the landlord to seek default remedies against the tenant, whether through eviction, damages, injunctive relief or some combination of all three. The default clause will typically define in some detail what constitutes a tenant’s default, and in equal detail the landlord’s remedies and how to exercise them. However, even in the absence of specific default provisions, Oregon law gives landlords statuto

If a tenant leaves behind personal property, the landlord is required by statute to send an "abandonment notice." The abandonment notice explains to the tenant that the property is considered abandoned and will be stored by the landlord for approximately eight days before it is conclusively presumed abandoned. The notice also explains the tenant’s right to claim the property and, if it is not claimed, that the property may be thrown away or sold at auction if it is valued at