Tacoma, WA asked in Landlord - Tenant for Oregon

Q: Can a property manager text the amount of rent? And it be legal?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Katherine Goodman
Katherine Goodman
Answered
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: This is a very broad question and you do not state whether you are the landlord or the tenant. Do you mean can a landlord text a tenant a notice about the amount of rent that is increasing in relation to renewal of lease or is this in context of how much rent is owed every month for a lease that is already started? Or this is an offer of how much rent would be for a new tenant moving in to a premises? Or is this an answer to a question the tenant has about the rent as the tenant is seeking additional information about the premises?

If you are a landlord notifying the tenant about a rent increase you should refer to your lease agreement with your tenant on how to notify the tenant about the rent increase and renewal of lease. If you are a tenant receiving a notice from the landlord via text about rent increase and renewal of lease, please review your lease for whether or not text message would be authorized. (In either situation if your lease is not clear, please reach out to a landlord and tenant attorney for a consultation).

If you are landlord or a tenant who is answering or asking a questions about rent of a potential place, please note that the text may be considered an offer for a contract to rent the premises. More facts will be needed to determine and give a proper answer.

Regardless of what situation this may apply, I would recommend reaching out to a landlord and tenant lawyer with additional information to make sure that you get the correct answer to your question(s). Additionally, there may be other variables that may change the answer(s) that have been written here because there are not enough facts to determine if these are the proper answers.

Gregory L Abbott agrees with this answer

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

A: It depends upon what you mean. Text and email are convenient, informal, methods of communication between tenant(s) and a landlord. They are NOT, however, a legally valid way to provide written notice to the other. So if you are asking can a landlord provide you the legally required 90 day advanced notice of a rent increase by text or email ONLY, the answer is NO. They can of course provide it to you by text or email in addition to lawfully serving you written notice. IF they have done this, you may wish to simply stay silent until the rent increase is supposed to go into effect, thereby gaining an additional 90 days before it could become effective. If you have questions or further problems, consider reviewing everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney to learn your rights and obligations in your specific situation. Good luck.

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