Q: I lease a house and legally sublet rooms on a month to month basis. Could I not renew a lease during Covid times?
Because the rooms are month to month, I would like to not renew the leases on one of the rooms. The Tenant has caused issues in the house with others and the property. I know I cannot evict them but since they are month to month can I just not renew their lease? I know I have to legally give them 90 days notice. I cannot find any information on if this is the legal way to do this.
A: No, first a month to month tenancy self-renews every month unless and until one of the two parties provides notice of their intent to not renew it at least 30 days (tenant)/90 days (landlord in Portland) after service of the notice. Issuing such notices by a landlord is currently prohibited by the Governor's moratorium. Secondly, if the tenant has been there more than a year, you can only terminate their tenancy without cause for a permitted reason - see ORS 90.427(5). And if you are within the Portland city limits, you may be liable for paying relocation assistance or, at a minimum, obligated to provide written information to the tenants about their relocation assistance rights, even if you are exempt. Particularly in Portland, this has become a very technical but required process, with the penalties for not getting it right being in multiples of month's rent, plus court costs, plus the tenant's attorney's fees. If this applies, you may wish to review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney. Good luck.
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