Q: I live in Oregon, and just ended a fixed-term lease. Does the landlord need to give 90 days notice for a rent increase?
I have been living in my current house for 1 year. The 5 of us living in the house signed a fixed term lease 6 months ago with our landlord that expired today. We have not received a new lease. The landlord called and said she is going to increase the total rent of the house by 200 dollars. I know that in month to month agreements, you must be given 90 days and a written notice in Oregon, and I believe that since our fixed term agreement is over as of today, we now are month to month until we have a new lease to sign, as we have informed our landlord of the intention to stay and have not been given an eviction notice. Because we haven't signed a new lease, are we entitled to demand 90 days before the rent increase? She wants to raise the rent as of February, which doesn't seem legal to me, as it's not even a full 30 day notice, and we haven't received anything in writing.
A:
Your fixed term lease normally specifies what happens when it expires. It can just expire with the tenant being subject to immediate eviction if they are not out by the last day of the lease; it can automatically renew unless one party notifies the other party otherwise; it can automatically convert to a month to month tenancy; or perhaps it can just be silent, allowing the landlord to decide hw they want to proceed at the time; or perhaps some other option is specified. It can also include an agreed upon raise in rent.
This said, you are quite correct - if the landlord accepts rent for after the expiration date of the lease, a month to month tenancy is normally created if the lease was otherwise silent and any increase in rent requires at least 90 days advanced written notice. The notice must contain all the legally required information and it must be lawfully served upon the tenant(s). If you have difficulties, you may wish to review everything with a landlord-tenant attorney to ascertain your exact rights and obligations. Good luck.
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