Q: Can I evict my tenant who has been behind on rent since feb 1st.

A: Oregon has become increasingly tenant-friendly and anti-landlord so if you are a new landlord you truly need to fully educate yourself about all the rules and regs regarding being a landlord. Most violations by landlords are unintentional and cost the landlord damages in terms of multiples of months rent and the tenant's attorneys fees, which can be in the thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars - so tread lightly and check around to see if there are classes in your area for new landlords. There are several in the Portland Metro area and I suspect, but do not know for a fact, that Medford area has similar offerings.

That said, hopefully when you converted to a week to week lease, you entered into a new, written lease agreement or you may already be in trouble. You should ALWAYS issue a pay or quit notice as soon as you legally can - waiting just takes more money out of your pocket and potentially strengthens the tenants case that you have waived your right to collect the rent. Worse, it is unlawful for you to issue a pay or quit notice after April 1, 2020 until at least the Covid-19 crisis is officially over in Oregon, as pronounced by the Governor. It even technically is a criminal misdemeanor. Further, the courts won't even begin to think about evicting tenants for failure to pay rent (or for a no-cause termination of tenancy) until after June 29th at the earliest. It is currently unclear what happens after that. Multnomah County has issued a 6 month policy, giving tenants 6 months after the emergency is declared to be over to pay the back rent due that accrued during the Covid-19 emergency. I know of no other Ordinance or law that has yet addressed the problem, though other Counties may have on their own. Clearly it is an issue that will have to be addressed before long - by the courts, by the Legislature, by the Governor, or other policy-making body.

And yes, in general, as a landlord, you will need to carefully jump through every single hoop if you want to be able to enforce any termination of tenancy in your local court. All in all, you may wish to simply find a local landlord-tenant attorney now who can guide you through the process and handle any needed court filings. Getting it right the first time can save you considerable sums of money in the long run. Good luck.