How to Write a 30-Day Eviction Notice in Oregon

To begin the eviction process in Oregon with a 30-day notice, first ascertain whether this type of notice is appropriate and legal to use in the circumstances. If so, use a form notice and insert information identifying yourself and your tenant, the property location, the date of the notice, and the date and time it expires.

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Oregon eviction laws are extremely complex, so before you dive in on your own, be sure that you have the right to evict the tenant with a 30-day notice and that you know the procedure. Check with an attorney if you aren't sure, since if you fail to follow the rules exactly, the court may order you to pay the tenant's attorney fees.

In Oregon, a tenant who rents a unit without a lease is said to be on a month-to-month tenancy. A landlord has the right to end a month-to-month tenancy during the first year of that tenancy with a 30-day notice to vacate. The landlord generally does not need "cause" to evict and need not state any reason on the 30-day notice. Yet in some housing situations, including some government subsidized housing programs, a landlord must have "cause" to evict, such as not paying rent or not complying with other provisions of the rental agreement.

Note that Portland has its own laws about evictions and does not permit evictions with 30-day notices, requiring instead a 90-day notice. And throughout the state, the 30-day notice period doubles, to 90 days, during the second year of a month-to-month tenancy.

To evict a tenant with a 30-day notice, you first must prepare the notice. Obtain an Oregon eviction notice form at a local office supply store or write up your own. The notice must contain the following information:

• The name of the tenant and other people you know who are living on the property
• The property address

• The the date that the tenancy will end

• The name and signature of the person giving the Notice to Vacate

• The date that the Notice to Vacate is given

For a 30-day eviction notice for cause, which again is required for some forms of housing such as some government subsidized housing programs, the notice must also provide the reason for eviction. If the reason for eviction can possibly be resolved, for example by making repairs or paying damages, the notice must also state that the tenant can avoid eviction by fixing the problem within 14 days, or 30 days for a manufactured dwelling facility.

The first day of the 30 days is the day after you give the notice to the tenant. If you mail the notice instead of delivering it personally, you must add three days to the notice period.

If the tenant does not move out when the notice expires, you must file a complaint for unlawful detainer in court in the county in which the property is located. To do this, fill out the court's Residential Eviction Complaint and Summons forms and file them with the court clerk.

Be sure to include three copies of the eviction notice if there is one adult tenant, plus one extra for each other adult. You'll also have to pay the clerk a filing fee. The clerk will set a trial date, usually 14 days or less from the filing date. Arrange to have a third party personally hand the legal papers to the tenant.

If the tenant appears at the hearing and argues against eviction, the court may order you to try to reach a compromise through mediation. If no agreement is reached, the court will set a date for trial. An eviction doesn't occur unless and until you win at trial.

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