Unauthorized RV Occupants

Question: We have a couple of situations with unauthorized RV occupants in our park. The first is an RV tenant who has moved in a person who we consider to be a nuisance – she has been yelling at other residents. The second situation is a nice lady who has moved in a boyfriend – he seems okay but still hasn’t been approved. In both cases,

they have ignored our requests to fill out a rental application. What can we do about these situations?

Answer: Assuming you have written rental agreements with both tenants, those rental agreements likely have a provision prohibiting unauthorized occupants. If so, it is important to act quickly once you learn of an unauthorized occupant to avoid any waiver issues. Under Oregon law, a landlord potentially waives the right to evict a tenant for having an unauthorized occupant if the landlord accepts rent for three or more months while knowing the unauthorized occupant is living there.

If the tenants have been in the park for less than one year, you have the option of issuing them

30-day, no-cause eviction notices. Oregon law allows landlords to evict month-to-month tenants during the first year of occupancy without cause. However, certain cities have local ordinances that require a 90-day notice, including Portland, Eugene, Milwaukie, and Bend. In addition, Portland and Eugene have “relocation assistance” requirements that might require you to pay the tenant to vacate. Always check with an attorney before issuing a no-cause notice in those municipalities.

In the first situation, if the tenant has been in the park for less than one year, it might be best to simply issue a no-cause tenancy termination notice. The unauthorized woman is already causing problems and there is no need to give her a chance to become an approved tenant. The no-cause notice would require them both to vacate. If not, you could file an eviction case.

You could take the same approach in the second situation if she has lived in the park for less than one year, although it sounds like perhaps you would like to give this tenant an opportunity to comply. I would recommend that you speak with the tenant and explain that unless the boyfriend fills out an application for a background check, the park will have to issue a no-cause tenancy termination notice (just like in the first situation). If he complies and passes the background check, he must sign the rental agreement as a co-tenant.

Regardless of how long either tenant has lived in the park, you can always issue a 30/14-day, for-cause eviction notice. This type of notice can be issued for material violations of the rental agreement, such as violating a provision on unauthorized occupants.

The 30/14-day notice would describe the tenant’s violation (i.e. “unauthorized occupant living in your RV”), followed by describing how the tenant must correct the violation (i.e., “have your occupant apply for tenancy and receive park approval to become a tenant, or remove the unauthorized occupant from your RV and the park”). If the tenant corrects the violation within 14 days (plus three days added for mailing the notice), then the tenancy continues. If not, then the tenancy terminates at the end of the 30-day notice period, and you could file an eviction case in court. If the tenant corrects the violation, but then substantially engages in the same conduct again within 6 months from the date of the notice, you could evict the tenant with a 10-day eviction notice that the tenant would not have the opportunity to correct. (NOTE: Check online for Oregon landlord trade associations to purchase 30/14-day notice forms.)