The Oregon House passed SB 278 this week. It is expected to pass the Senate and be signed by the Governor next week. Under the bill, beginning on July 1 (when the eviction moratorium was otherwise slated to end), tenants who notify their landlords that they applied for rental assistance will be protected from eviction for 60 days from the date of the tenant’s notice.

Landlords will be required to send a statutorily prescribed notice informing tenants of this new right along with any termination or eviction notice for nonpayment. If the tenant ends up not getting the rental assistance, landlords will be able to proceed with the termination or eviction and be compensated for the delay with public dollars through a yet-to-be-determined process.

Separately, the bill now allows landlords to receive 100% compensation for unpaid rents through the Landlord Compensation Fund (LCF) rather than 80%. Landlords who have already applied or received funds need not apply again to receive the additional 20%. The application deadline for the LCF is 11:59pm on June 23.