Legal News

Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Portland Rent Control Law

November 10, 2021

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, November 4 that the City of Portland Ordinance 188829, known as “Mandatory Renter Relocation Assistance,” is not in violation of ORS 91.225 which prohibits cities and counties from “[enacting] any ordinance or resolution which controls the rent that may be charged for the rental of any dwelling unit.”

Residential Eviction Ban Extended to Dec 31

September 29, 2020

Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-56 Summary: Landlords who were planning on issuing certain termination notices after September 30 must now wait until December 31, 2020

On Monday, Governor Kate Brown issued Executive Order 20-56 (the EO), extending Oregon’s statewide ban on residential evictions until December 31. Executive Order 20-56 extends most residential property provisions ...

New Federal Eviction Ban Issued by CDC: Summary and FAQ

September 4, 2020

A federal eviction moratorium issued by the Administration (via the Center for Disease Control (CDC) takes effect on September 4, 2020 and lasts through December 31, 2020.  The moratorium prohibits terminations of tenancies for nonpayment of rent and other charges and fees.  Unlike the Oregon eviction moratorium the federal moratorium does not prohibit terminations for ...

BREAKING NEWS—$500 Emergency Checks Available to those Waiting for Unemployment

August 19, 2020

Breaking News—$500 Emergency Checks Available to those Waiting for Unemployment

The Oregon Legislature authorized $500 emergency checks for individuals who have struggled to receive their unemployment benefits.  The program was just launched today.  Here are the criteria:

Earned $4,000/month or less pre-tax prior to your income loss due to COVID-19 Are suffering financial hardship due ...

Potential ADA Scam Alert

July 16, 2020

In June 2020, AXA, a Real Estate E&O carrier, received 16 ADA Fair Housing claims. All these complaints came from a single law firm stating that their clients website had some ADA violations, together with a demand letter as a complaint. These demands included requests for phone interview with the law firm to discuss existing violations. In all ...

Oregon’s “Re-Opening” Plans

May 7, 2020

May 11, 2020

On May 7 the Governor held a press conference and issued new guidelines on “re-opening” Oregon. The Governor is approaching re-opening on two paths: 1) Statewide guidance that applies to all Oregonians and businesses (and some sector-specific guidance) and 2) County-by-county guidance that allows a greater degree of activity ...

Updates to COVID-19 Buyer and Seller Advisories

April 15, 2020

OAR put out COVID-19 Buyer and Seller Advisories on March 25, to supplement the existing OAR Buyer and Seller Advisories.  A lot has happened since then, in particular with regard to federal, state and local eviction bans.  We’ve updated the advisories again.  In them, we suggest that sellers and buyers who are dealing with tenant ...

Oregon Should Allow Remote Online Notarization

March 26, 2020

By allowing Remote Online Notarization, Oregon can keep a critical part of the real estate purchase and refinancing infrastructure functioning while also promoting the goals of social distancing and ensuring compliance with Governor Browns “Stay Home, Save Lives” Executive Order.

Remote Online Notarization (RON) allows the consumer and notary to be ...

Governor Kate Brown Tightens Social Distancing Measures, Tells Oregonians to “Stay Home, Save Lives”

March 23, 2020

Governor Kate Brown today issued Executive Order 20-12, directing everyone in Oregon to stay at home to the maximum extent possible and adding to the list of businesses that will be temporarily closed to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Oregon. The order is effective immediately, and remains in effect ...

Update: National Flood Insurance Program and Endangered Species Act

March 12, 2020

In April 2016 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) delivered a Biological Opinion (BiOp) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determining that the implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in Oregon encouraged development in floodplains that harmed endangered salmon and that modifications would need to be made to the Program to limit ...