Residential landlords and tenants received relief last week during the Oregon Legislative Special Session. Landlords and tenants can find information below with links to apply for assistance.
Landlords that have been impacted due to unpaid rent can file for assistance through the Rental and Housing Assistance webpage. The Landlord Compensation Fund was set up by the Oregon Legislature by allocating $200M in rent assistance to support landlords and tenants, $150M is to assist landlords. The OR Housing and Community Services (OHCS) will be developing program materials over the next couple of weeks. Landlords can sign up to receive emails on the latest information here. The Oregon Judicial Department website has landlord information on evictions.
Tenants unable to pay rent and seeking protection under the extended moratorium on evictions, must complete a declaration form, as the protections are not automatic. The form affirms that the tenant has experienced a financial hardship since March 16, 2020 that impacts their ability to pay rent and that the public assistance received does not cover the loss of income or expenses. An FAQ for tenants can be found here. Tenants that have not executed a declaration form can be evicted for non payment of rent starting January 1, 2021 and have until March 31, 2021 to pay any back rent accrued between April 1 and December 31, 2020. The Oregon Judicial Department’s site should have updated eviction moratorium declaration forms soon for tenants.
The new covid relief package also has $25B to establish the first emergency federal rental assistance program. The funds can be used for past due rent, future rent payments and utility and energy bills to prevent shut offs. Visit the Housing and Urban Development website to obtain more information on this program.
Read other Covid-19 related updates HERE
