Q: I received no-cause notice by voicemail followed by written notice retroactively dated to the voicemail. Is this legal?

A: The fast answer is no, 90 days means 90 days - and if mailed only, an extra 4 days (including the day of mailing) has to be added to the specified deadline. So save the envelope for the postmark to prove when it was mailed. Verbal notice is nice and a courtesy but does not affect the legal obligation to provide you with a properly worded, lawfully served, written notice of termination of your tenancy. It can only be served by handing it to you in person; mailing it regular first class mail (NOT certified) and adding the extra 4 days; or, if your written lease provides for it, by posting it on your front door and mailing you a copy (no extra 4 days required but if posted and mailed today, tomorrow is "Day 1" for counting purposes.

Additionally, if you reside within the city limits of Portland, the landlord may have to pay you relocation assistance money and, if the Notice was mailed to you after March 7, 2018 and did not contain written notice of your rights regarding relocation assistance, he likely is in violation already.

So much depends upon what you want to happen. If you just want to stay as long as possible, and you think the notice is invalid given the above information, you may just want to stay silent and see what happens. If day 90 comes and you are still there, and the landlord files to evict you, a defective notice is a complete defense and he would have to issue a new 90 day notice, starting from then. If you believe he is liable for the relocation assistance payment and does not pay it to you not less than 45 days from the specified termination date, you may be entitled to recover up to 3 months rent, plus the relocation assistance money, plus any actual damages, plus your court costs, plus your attorney's fees. If the notice was sent without including notice of your rights, and was sent after March 7th, you may be entitled to the same above penalties though the exact details are not as yet totally clear. Again, if you want to at least keep the option open for any of the above, it probably is best to not call your landlord's attention to his error(s) until later.

Finally, before betting your future on it, you may wish to take the notice, envelope, and your lease to a local landlord-tenant attorney for a detailed review to learn your exact rights in this situation and to enhance the likelihood of knowing whether the notice is truly defective.

Best of luck.