Multnomah County Gives Renters 90 Days Safe Harbor From Eviction If They Take Action

On Thursday, July 8, 2021, Multnomah County passed Ordinance 1296 which strengthened protections against evictions for nonpayment of rent for those tenants who have applied for rent assistance. Ordinance 1296 extends the safe harbor period from 60 days to 90 days for tenants in Multnomah County. If the tenant has applied for emergency rent assistance and provided documentation, the landlord cannot serve a termination notice for nonpayment or engage in an eviction court cause for a 90 day period. 

Starting July 1, 2021, all tenants must resume paying their monthly rent subject to the protections in SB 278 and Multnomah County Ordinance 1296. Tenants that accrued nonpayment balances during the emergency period of April 1, 2020-June 30, 2021 have until February 28, 2022, to pay back these accrued nonpayment balances. 

In an email dated July 14, 2021, Multifamily NW offered the following additional details regarding Multnomah County's July 8th ordinance as it relates to Oregon SB 278.

1. SB 278 Protection Period and Effect of Ordinance No.1296 SB 278 establishes that if a Tenant provides the Landlord with documentation that the Tenant has applied for rental assistance, a Landlord may not deliver a termination notice for nonpayment or initiate or continue an action for possession based on the termination notice for nonpayment for 60 days. Ordinance no. 1296 increases this protection period to 90 days for tenancies located in Multnomah County. This means if a Tenant within Multnomah County provides the Landlord with documentation that they have applied for rental assistance, the Landlord will now need to wait 90 days before delivering a termination notice for nonpayment or initiating or continuing an action for possession based on a termination notice for nonpayment.
2. Reissuing a Termination for Nonpayment if Balance is Not Paid If 90 days have passed since the Tenant provided the documentation, a Landlord may issue a new termination notice. If the matter was already filed with the court and the case was postponed for 90-days, the court must promptly set the matter for trial at the reset first appearance.
3. Penalties Ordinance no.1296 does not modify the penalties of SB 278 in any way. If a Landlord violates the extended protection period under Ordinance no.1296, a Tenant may obtain injunctive relief to recover possession or address any other violation. The Landlord’s failure to comply may also be used as a defense in an FED. Finally, if an FED is dismissed based on the extended protection period under Ordinance no.1296, a Tenant is not entitled to a prevailing party fee, costs or attorney fees if the Landlord delivered all notices as required, did not know or have reasonable cause to know that the Tenant had provided documentation when the FED was filed and the Landlord promptly dismissed the FED when they became aware that the Tenant provided the documentation.
4. Conclusion Landlords should pay special attention to the required changes in forms and practices. If you are not already utilizing a forms bank that is updated regularly, you should consider doing so.

For more information on COVID-related eviction protections and Multnomah County Ordinance 1296 please visit this link.