This post has been updated to include information about the Governor’s Executive Order issued on Wednesday, April 1, including updated information from Oregon Law Center.
April 1st is today. Rent and mortgage payments are due.
If you’re worried about being able to pay your rent or mortgage because of income lost due to the CoronaVirus, here is what we know. The short answer: there are some protections that exist in Oregon, but not enough and we need more.
First, if you are worried about being able to pay your rent or mortgage, reach out to your landlord or mortgage servicer today. Don’t wait!
If you rent your home, the Oregon Governor Kate Brown has issued a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent due to the Coronavirus or for no-cause evictions. The version of her Executive Order from March 22nd would have stopped the Sheriff from coming to enforce the eviction order. Her Executive Order issued April 1 prevents a landlord from giving an eviction notice or filing an eviction lawsuit related to non-payment of rent or no-cause. In addition the Courts are closed. There is a lot to know about what this means, so please read this great information from Oregon Law Center. (Updated as of April 3.) If you need this information in Spanish, it is available. Check out this page for updates.
Please remember that it is always against the law for a landlord to physically remove a tenant, to change the locks to keep a tenant out of their home, or to shut off the utilities to try to remove a tenant. Only the sheriff can use force to remove you, and even then only after a court order.
If you rent your home in Multnomah County and you rent your home, there is an eviction moratorium in place that also requires a payment plan, and bans the collection of late fees if you’re not able to pay your rent. Read more here from the City of Portland, or Oregon Law Center.
If you are unable to pay your rent, the Oregon Law Center has created a helpful form to help you communicate with your landlord about why you can’t pay your rent. See page 4 of this document.
If you own your home, the federal CARES Act passed last weekend has some critical protections for homeowners. (Thank you to our federal delegation!) Unfortunately, not every homeowner is covered. The National Housing Law Project has great information about who is covered, and how to find out if you are covered. You can also check out their page to find other information as this situation changes.
If you have time today, we still need the Oregon Legislature to act to put in place a foreclosure moratorium and allocate rent assistance for folks who’ve been impacted economically due to the Coronavirus. Find your Representative and Senator here, and call or email today.
