Silverton, OR asked in Landlord - Tenant for Oregon

Q: What is the legal process to evict tenants if the signed tenant & landlord lease agreement has expired?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Gregory L Abbott
Gregory L Abbott
Answered
  • Landlord Tenant Lawyer
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: It could depend upon what the lease itself says about what happens upon expiration if it was a fixed term lease, or perhaps it was a month to month tenancy agreement? Regardless, while I would need to read the lease to be sure, most likely everything simply converted (if it was not already) to a month to month tenancy and you simply need to terminate the tenant's tenancy the same as you would any month to month tenant. How depends upon why you are terminating it - for cause or without cause. You will need to serve the tenants with lawfully worded, legally served written notice of the termination with a specified termination date based upon the reason for termination. If that deadline passes without the tenants vacating, then you will need to file to evict them in the local court. It can be a technical process and any error in either law or procedure by the landlord can result in the eviction lawsuit being thrown out and the landlord owing the tenant's court costs and attorney's fees (which could be in the thousands, depending). Plus the tenants stay, now feeling emboldened from their win, and you start over from scratch to try again. So you may wish to at least consult with, or probably simply hire, a landlord-tenant attorney to maximize your chances of winning on the first attempt. Good luck.

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