How much can a landlord raise rent in Oregon?

Seven per cent plus inflation, capped at ten per cent, in any 12-month period. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services publishes the maximum each year: 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. Only one increase is allowed in any 12 months, and none at all during your first year in the home. Buildings whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the notice are exempt from the cap entirely.

How much notice does a landlord have to give in Oregon?

Ninety days in writing for any tenancy other than week-to-week, under section 90.323. A week-to-week tenancy needs seven days. The notice has to state the amount of the increase, the amount of the new rent and the date it takes effect. If the increase is above the cap, it must also state the facts supporting the exemption being relied on, so a notice giving only a figure and a date does not comply.

What happens if my landlord raises the rent above the Oregon cap?

Section 90.323(8) makes a landlord who increases rent in violation of the cap liable to the tenant for three months' rent plus any actual damages suffered. That is a statutory remedy rather than a refund of the overcharge. A landlord also cannot get around the cap by ending a tenancy without cause in its first year and resetting the rent for the next tenant, which subsection (6) forbids.

My building is new. Does the Oregon rent cap apply to me?

Probably not, but check the date. The exemption covers a dwelling whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the date of the rent increase notice. It is a rolling window measured from the notice, so a building that was exempt for last year's increase can fall under the cap for this year's. The 90-day notice requirement applies either way.

Oregon Rent Increase Cap: What the Notice Must Say

Oregon caps your rent increase at 7% plus inflation, up to a maximum of 10%, allows one increase in any 12 months, and forbids any increase at all during your first year in the home. You are entitled to 90 days’ written notice. The published maximum was 9.5% for 2026 and is 10% for 2027.

Two things in Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.323 matter more than the percentage, and almost nothing written about Oregon mentions either. The notice has to justify itself. And getting it wrong costs your landlord three months’ rent.

The notice has to carry its own justification

§ 90.323(4) sets out what a rent increase notice must contain, and it is a list rather than a formality:

the amount of the increase;
the amount of the new rent;
the date the increase takes effect; and
where the increase is above the cap, the facts supporting the exemption being relied on.

That last item is the useful one. A landlord charging more than 7% plus inflation is not merely allowed to be above the cap — they have to say in the notice itself why they are entitled to be. A notice that states a figure and a date, with no explanation, does not comply when the figure is over the cap. You are entitled to ask for the missing part in writing.

The exemptions are narrower than they sound

There are only two under § 90.323(7). The first is a building whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the date of the notice — a rolling window, so a building that was exempt last year may not be this year. The second is where the landlord is providing reduced rent under a federal, state or local subsidy programme.

That is the whole list. Being a small landlord, owning a single house, or raising rent to meet costs are not exemptions in Oregon.

What it costs your landlord to get wrong

§ 90.323(8) makes a landlord who raises rent in violation of the cap liable to you for three months’ rent plus any actual damages you suffered. That is a statutory remedy, not a refund of the overcharge, and it is what makes an Oregon complaint worth raising rather than absorbing.

There is a matching provision that closes the obvious loophole. Under § 90.323(6), a landlord who ends a tenancy without cause during its first year cannot then reset the rent for the next tenant above 7% plus inflation. Clearing the unit does not clear the cap.

The first year, and the one increase a year

No increase is permitted during the first year of a tenancy, full stop. After that, one increase in any 12-month period, with 90 days’ notice. A week-to-week tenancy is treated separately and needs only 7 days. Colorado has the same once-a-year limit without any cap on the amount, which shows how much of the protection here comes from the frequency rule rather than the percentage.

The inflation figure is taken from the September publication of the previous year, which means next year’s maximum is known before the year begins. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services publishes it. Manufactured home parks and floating home marinas with more than 30 spaces have a lower limit of 6%.

If the increase is over the cap

Write to your landlord, quote § 90.323, give the figure charged and the published maximum for the year, and ask which exemption under subsection (7) they rely on and on what facts. Keep it short and keep a copy. If the answer is that there is no exemption, subsection (8) is the next thing to mention.

When this needs a lawyer

Get advice before relying on subsection (8), because a claim for three months’ rent is worth doing properly. Also if the increase followed a repair request, or if you were served a notice ending your tenancy rather than raising the rent. Oregon has tenant legal aid in every county and most of it is free.

Sources

Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.323 as amended by Senate Bill 608 (2019); subsections (1) and (3) for notice and cap, (4) for the contents of the notice, (6) for the reset limit, (7) for exemptions and (8) for the remedy. Annual maximum percentages are published by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, Office of Economic Analysis: 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. DAS issued a correction to its 2026 publication, so check the current notice before relying on a figure. Verified November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your tenancy.

Oregon is one of only four places that cap the amount rather than just the notice — how all 51 jurisdictions compare. The nearest comparison is Washington, whose cap arrived in 2025; California caps a little more loosely.

Not sure whether your building is exempt?

Upload your lease and we will read the rent, renewal and notice clauses and tell you what they commit you to. No account needed, and the preview is free.

Read my lease