Q: Im contesting an eviction in oregon. One of my defenses is retaliation .

A: Yes, the statute provides for up to 2 months rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater for each separate retaliatory episode. That said, tenants all the time think they have great retaliation cases - and they don't. Retaliation is VERY difficult to prove and burden of proof is on the tenant. First, retaliation is not a defense to failure to pay rent. Second, and this is the problem for most such cases, the tenant must prove that it is the reason the landlord is terminating the tenancy and that the landlord has NO other reason for doing so. If the landlord has both a retaliatory and a non-retaliatory reason, they win. It is a rare landlord that cannot come up with SOME reason for wanting to terminate your tenancy - you don't meet their housekeeping standards; they just want their house back; some shirt-tail relative needs a place to stay and they chose your place to be that place; they are thinking of selling the dwelling and want it empty to show (nothing says they have to follow through and actually sell...); etc., etc., etc. The legal standard is known as the "But For" test - but for the tenant's complaint, would the landlord have still terminated the tenancy? And you have to prove that or you lose, and unless you have another, winning defense, you are likely to be evicted, out in a matter of a few days, while owing the landlord's court costs and attorneys fees (potentially thousands of dollars) and will have a fresh eviction on your rental record, making it extremely difficult to find a new landlord that will accept you once they do the background check and find that you just go evicted by your prior landlord. If you made your last landlord go to the time, expense, and trouble of evicting you, why would I want to rent to you? Especially when there is likely to be many other applicants who don't have these issues. So I don't say it is impossible to win a retaliation case - it all depends upon the exact facts - but it is very difficult and the odds are you will get your head handed to you on a platter, especially if the landlord has an attorney and you do not. Good luck.