How to Evict a Roommate in Oregon (and Other Household Situations)
What Oregon law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: A tenant is a person, including a roomer, entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a unit to the exclusion of others; a guest or temporary occupant is not a tenant. A landlord, tenant, and proposed occupant can sign a written temporary occupancy agreement: the temporary occupant has no tenant rights, the tenant may end the agreement at any time without cause, and the landlord may end it only for a material violation. A person living in the unit who is neither entitled under a rental agreement nor authorized by the tenant is a 'squatter'. ORS 90.100(47), (51); ORS 90.275
| Roommate not on the lease | A tenant is a person, including a roomer, entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a unit to the exclusion of others; a guest or temporary occupant is not a tenant. A landlord, tenant, and proposed occupant can sign a written temporary occupancy agreement: the temporary occupant has no tenant rights, the tenant may end the agreement at any time without cause, and the landlord may end it only for a material violation. A person living in the unit who is neither entitled under a rental agreement nor authorized by the tenant is a 'squatter'. The landlord may screen a proposed temporary occupant for conduct or criminal record but not credit history or income (ORS 90.275(5)). Source: ORS 90.100(47), (51); ORS 90.275 |
|---|---|
| Removing a roommate or subtenant | If the roommate is a temporary occupant under a written agreement, the tenant may end the agreement at any time without written notice; the temporary occupant must promptly leave and is treated as a squatter if they stay after the tenant revokes permission. An owner or landlord may then take possession through Oregon's court eviction procedure (ORS 105.100 to 105.168) after giving 24 hours' written notice stating the date and time to vacate and that the cause is squatter status. Temporary occupancy: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors090.html. A roommate who is a tenant under a rental agreement is instead removed with the termination notices for tenants. If the temporary occupant fails to leave, the landlord may also terminate the tenant's tenancy (ORS 90.275(9)). |
| Guests who won't leave | A guest is not a tenant. A person who occupies a unit without being entitled under a rental agreement or authorized by the tenant is a squatter, whose occupancy is excluded from the landlord-tenant act; the owner or landlord may take possession through the court eviction procedure after 24 hours' written notice. If the tenant has moved out, the lease barred unapproved occupants, and the landlord has not knowingly accepted rent from the person, the landlord may likewise proceed against an unauthorized possessor after 24 hours' written notice; the notice does not create a tenancy. Squatter eviction: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors091.html (ORS 91.140, added 2025). |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger exception. Oregon's definition of 'tenant' expressly includes a roomer (a person in a unit that lacks its own bathroom or kitchen facilities and shares them with other occupants), so roomers have tenant rights under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Source: ORS 90.100(43), (51) |
| Tenancy at will | A tenant at will is one who takes possession with the owner's consent, under circumstances not showing an intent to create a freehold interest. When rent is payable at intervals of less than three months, notice to end a tenancy at will is enough if it equals the interval between rent payments, given before the end of a rent period. A tenant at sufferance is one who came into possession lawfully but holds over wrongfully after the term ends; no notice is required to end a tenancy at sufferance. Notices must be in writing and delivered in person, posted on the premises if the tenant is absent, or left at the residence. Most residential tenancies are governed by the specific termination rules of ORS chapter 90 (for example, ORS 90.427 for month-to-month tenancies). Source: ORS 91.040, 91.050, 91.110 |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Transient occupancy in a hotel or motel is excluded from Oregon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. 'Transient occupancy' requires all of these: charged daily and not collected more than six days in advance; maid and linen service at least every two days included in the price; and a stay of no more than 30 days. A stay that lacks any of these features (for example, longer than 30 days) is not transient occupancy. Vacation rentals of up to 45 days by someone with a principal residence elsewhere are also excluded. |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
Templates
Oregon eviction laws · Free legal help in Oregon · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.