Evicting “Vacation Occupants” from RV Park

Question

We have a person on a written “vacation occupancy agreement” in our RV park as required by Oregon law. The end date for the agreement is coming up, but this person says he is not going to move out with his RV and wants us to give him a regular rental agreement. We don’t want him as a long-term tenant based on his behavior (dog loose, messy RV space, etc.). Do we have to offer him a renta

l agreement? How do we get him out if he refuses to leave?

Answer

You do not have to offer him a rental agreement. Since you indicate that he has signed a vacation occupancy agreement, presumably he qualifies as a vacation occupant. Under Oregon law (ORS 90.110 (7)), vacation occupants are not tenants and are not entitled to be offered a rental agreement.

As per ORS 90.100, “vacation occupancy” is defined as: (1) The occupant is renting the RV space for vacation purposes only, not as a principal residence, (2) the occupant has a principal residence other than at the space, (3) the period of occupancy cannot exceed 90 days, (4) the RV must be removed from the park at the end of the occupancy period, and (5) a written agreement signed by the occupant states that occupancy of the space in the RV park is a vacation occupancy and is NOT subject to the Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ORS Chapter 90).

Since vacation occupants are not “tenants,” they may be asked to vacate at any time without issuing an eviction notice or going to court. If necessary, law enforcement may be called to remove vacation occupants as trespassers if they refuse to leave. In that case, you must have a copy of the written vacation occupancy agreement available to show the responding officers that the occupants are not tenants under Oregon law and can be cited for trespassing. They are effectively the same as a hotel guest that refuses to leave.

If, for some reason, law enforcement refuses to remove a vacation occupant, you might need to file an eviction case in your county circuit court. Be sure not to accept payment from the person for any period of time after the 90-day occupancy period or it could create a tenancy. You will need to file an eviction case for a “tenancy not covered by ORS Chapter 90.” The court clerk should have a complaint form that you can use, or consult with an attorney to file the case.