Q: Does not personally delivering a termination notice invalidate it?
My landlord wanted to serve me a termination notice. She said she was instructed by her attorney to deliver it to me personally but she has been extremely retaliatory and abusive so I didn't want personal contact with her. She said she would leave it in the laundry room that her tenants share and then asked me to confirm by email that I received it which I did.
Would this be considered a defective termination notice because she didn't hand-deliver it to me in person and didn't utilize any other alternative methods of delivery such as first class mail or posting on premises entrance that are specified in both our lease and state law?
A: Assuming you are talking about a rental in Oregon, yes, technically only three methods of service are valid - personal, by mail, and/or posted on the door and mailed if a written lease provides for it. Leaving it in the laundry room does not comply. A creative attorney for her might be able to convince the Judge that your agreement at the time waived the service requirement but then again another of the statutes specifies that a tenant cannot waive statutory protections. So the odds are in your favor but in the end it is up to the Judge.
A:
In Oregon, the validity of a termination notice largely depends on the method of delivery stipulated by state law and the terms of your lease agreement. If both state law and your lease specify certain methods of delivery, such as hand-delivery, first-class mail, or posting on the premises, and your landlord did not comply with these methods, the notice may be considered defective. Leaving the notice in a shared laundry room and obtaining confirmation via email does not align with the specified methods.
However, since you acknowledged receipt of the notice via email, it complicates the situation. This acknowledgment could potentially be interpreted as acceptance of the notice. It would be advisable to consult with a lawyer to understand your rights and options in this situation. They can provide guidance on whether the notice can be challenged based on the method of delivery and your subsequent acknowledgment.
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