Oregon required lease disclosures: the smoking policy, the floodplain line and what a foreclosure filing forces you to say
Oregon's landlord-tenant law names four things to put in or with a lease: a smoking policy in every rental agreement (ORS 90.220(4)), a floodplain notice where the unit lies in a 100-year flood plain (90.228), the manager and owner details (90.305) and, for small buildings, pending foreclosure-type proceedings (90.310). Each has a penalty.
What is the smoking policy rule?
ORS 90.220(4): "Except as provided in this subsection, the rental agreement must include a disclosure of the smoking policy for the premises that complies with ORS 479.305." The exception is a rental agreement for space in a facility under the manufactured dwelling and marina provisions (ORS 90.505 to 90.850). Subsection (3) separately requires the landlord to give the tenant a copy of any written rental agreement and all amendments and additions.
When is a flood plain notice required?
ORS 90.228: if a dwelling unit is in a 100-year flood plain, the landlord "shall provide notice in the dwelling unit rental agreement that the dwelling unit is located within the flood plain." The flood plain level is the one determined by the National Flood Insurance Program of FEMA. If you leave it out and the tenant suffers an uninsured loss due to flooding, the tenant may recover the lesser of the actual damages for the uninsured loss or two months' rent.
Example a made-up Salem landlord rents a unit at $1,400 in a mapped flood plain without the notice in the lease. A flood destroys $5,000 of uninsured belongings. The tenant recovers the lesser of $5,000 or two months' rent of $2,800, so $2,800.
Who must you name?
ORS 90.305(1): disclose in writing, at or before the start of the tenancy, the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises and of an owner, or a person authorized to act for the owner, for service of process and receiving notices and demands. It must be kept current and binds successors. A person authorized to manage or to enter into the agreement who fails to comply becomes an agent of each landlord for service and notices (subsection 3).
Subsection (4) adds a records rule: keep a copy of each rental agreement at the resident manager's office or at the managing person's address. A tenant may inspect it, and for a reasonable charge, no more than the lesser of 25 cents a page or actual copying costs, you provide a copy.
What legal proceedings must you reveal?
ORS 90.310(1) applies to premises with no more than four dwelling units. Before the tenant signs, the landlord must disclose in writing any outstanding notice of default under a trust deed, mortgage or contract of sale, or notice of trustee's sale; any pending suit to foreclose a mortgage, trust deed or vendor's lien; any pending declaration of forfeiture or suit for specific performance of a contract of sale; and any pending proceeding to foreclose a tax lien.
If the tenant moves because of an undisclosed circumstance, the tenant may recover twice the actual damages or twice the monthly rent, whichever is greater, and all prepaid rent. A manager who complied with 90.305 is not liable if the manager had no knowledge of the circumstance (subsection 4).
How DoorKeeping helps in Oregon
DoorKeeping keeps the lease, the move-in report and the deposit details together for each unit, so you can ask Claude or ChatGPT which disclosures a lease is missing before you send it. Anything that goes to a tenant waits for your one-tap approval. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. This is general information, not legal advice: check the current statute and your own lease.
Sources
- Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 90, Residential Landlord and Tenant, ORS 90.220, 90.228, 90.305 and 90.310 (Oregon Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
- 42 U.S. Code 4852d, Disclosure of information concerning lead upon transfer of residential property (Cornell Legal Information Institute), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Does Oregon require a smoking policy in the lease?
- Yes. ORS 90.220(4) requires a disclosure of the smoking policy that complies with ORS 479.305, with an exception for certain manufactured dwelling facility spaces.
- What happens if an Oregon landlord omits the flood plain notice?
- If the unit is in a 100-year flood plain and the tenant has an uninsured flood loss, the tenant can recover the lesser of actual damages or two months' rent (ORS 90.228).
- Must an Oregon landlord disclose a foreclosure filing?
- For buildings of four units or fewer, yes, before signing. A tenant who moves because of an undisclosed matter can recover double damages or double rent (ORS 90.310).