Oregon Rent Increase Rules 2026: Working Inside the 9.5% Cap and Avoiding Portland Relocation Traps

Fall is when a lot of Oregon landlords sit down with a calculator and a calendar. Insurance just went up. Property taxes did not get cheaper. And if you have a January 1 renewal coming, the 90-day notice clock is already ticking.

https://youtu.be/6PNORy2OUPo

Mr Portland Landlord reports this article. Subscribe to our YouTube channel today to get access to hundreds of free landlord videos.

Before you fill in a number, you need the current Oregon rent increase rules 2026 — the statewide 9.5% cap, Portland associated-housing-cost trap, the 90-day notice, and one timing rule that still trips people up every year: if the increase will not take effect until January 1, 2027 or later, you have to wait for next year’s DAS percentage.

Oregon Rent Increase Rules 2026 at a Glance

Here is the working picture for calendar year 2026.

Oregon’s rent cap for 2026 is 9.5%. That number comes from ORS 90.323 and ORS 90.324. Each September, the Department of Administrative Services publishes the maximum percentage for the following calendar year. For any increase that takes effect during 2026, 9.5% is the ceiling.

A few other rules sit right next to that percentage:

• Month-to-month tenancies generally need a 90-day written rent-increase notice.

• You normally cannot stack increases more often than once in a 12-month period.

• The cap applies to rent. In the City of Portland, other charges can still create a separate problem under Portland City Code 30.01.085.

• New construction and a few other statutory exceptions exist. Do not assume you are in an exception without checking the current statute.

If your building is inside Portland city limits, read the next two sections before you mail anything. The statewide cap is only half the analysis.

The 9.5% Cap Is Not a Target

Nine-point-five percent is the legal maximum, not a recommended increase. Plenty of owners will land lower because of the local market, a good tenant they want to keep, or a unit that is already at the top of the block.

Run the math both ways. If rent is $1,800, 9.5% is $171, so the 2026 ceiling is $1,971. That does not mean $1,971 is the right number. Look at recent leases on your street, what comparable units actually rented for, and how much friction a large jump creates. A tenant who stays at a slightly lower rent is often cheaper than 30 days vacant plus turning the unit.

Also watch the 12-month clock. If you already raised rent in March 2026, you generally cannot raise it again in October just because fall feels like increase season.

A fall planning desk: 90-day rent-increase notice, calculator, September calendar, and a rainy Portland duplex.

Portland Associated Housing Costs Can Trigger Relocation Assistance

This is the Portland-specific trap.

Inside the City of Portland, PCC 30.01.085 treats more than base rent as associated housing costs. Parking, storage, utility billing add-ons, and similar landlord-imposed charges can count. If those costs rise enough, you can trip Portland rent-increase / relocation-assistance rules even when the rent line on the lease looks like it stayed under 9.5%.

That is a different analysis from the state cap. The state asks whether rent went up more than 9.5%. Portland asks a broader question about the tenant’s housing costs and whether the increase is large enough to trigger relocation assistance.

So before you add a parking fee, start a RUBS program, or raise a storage charge on a Portland property, add the new dollars to the old dollars and look at the combined change. If you are close to a relocation trigger, stop and run the city’s current threshold — do not guess.

Washington County and Clackamas County units outside Portland city limits do not have that Portland overlay. They still have the state cap and the 90-day notice.

90-Day Notices, Timing, and the January 1 Problem

For most month-to-month tenancies, Oregon wants a 90-day written notice of a rent increase. Count the days. Do not count on mailing it in early October and assuming January 1 is fine. If the tenant does not receive a full 90 days before the effective date, the increase is late.

A simple working calendar for a January 1, 2027 increase:

• Effective date: January 1, 2027

• 90 days back lands in early October 2026

• You still have to use the 2027 cap, not the 2026 cap

That last bullet is the one landlords miss.

Use the current ORHA O1 or Portland O1PD from the form store — PAROA members get a discount.

Wait for the 2027 DAS Percentage Before Any January 1 Increase

If the rent increase you are planning will not take effect until January 1, 2027 or later, do not send the notice yet on the 9.5% 2026 figure.

DAS publishes the next year’s maximum in September. Until that 2027 percentage is out, you do not know the legal ceiling for a January 1, 2027 increase. A notice that quotes 9.5% for a 2027 effective date can be wrong in either direction.

Practical sequence:

1. Watch for the September DAS publication of the 2027 percentage.

2. Decide the actual increase using that number as the ceiling, not as an automatic raise.

3. Check Portland associated housing costs if the property is in the city.

4. Use a proper 90-day notice and serve it so the tenant has a full 90 days before January 1.

5. Keep a copy of the notice and your proof of service.

If you need an increase that takes effect still in 2026 — say November 1, 2026 — the 9.5% cap is the one that applies, and you should already be inside the 90-day window.

What Belongs in the Notice (and Which Landlord Forms to Use)

A rent-increase notice is not a sticky note on the door. It needs the current rent, the new rent, the effective date, and enough information that a tenant or a judge can tell exactly what changed.

Do not invent this document. Use the current Oregon Rental Housing Association rent-increase notices. The statewide version is commonly the O1; Portland properties generally need the Portland-specific version (O1PD or the current Portland equivalent in the ORHA catalog). Get them from the ORHA form store. PAROA members receive a discount.

Fill in every blank. Wrong effective date, missing dollar amounts, and vague percentage language are how good increases turn into unenforceable ones. Serve the notice the way the statute and your rental agreement allow, and keep the proof.

If you manage for other owners, put the notice packet in the owner file with the math: old rent, new rent, percentage, cap year, Portland associated-cost check, and date of service.

and now a couple shameless plugs

If you want the 90-day notices, the Portland versions, and someone to call when the math gets weird, that is exactly why the Portland Area Rental Owners Association (PAROA) exists. Members get education, landlord forms, networking, and a Helpline that hears these fact patterns all week. PAROA members also get a discount on the ORHA form store notices you should be using for this.

And if you would rather not personally track DAS publications, Portland relocation thresholds, and service deadlines across a portfolio, Northwest Real Estate and Property Management (NWRPM) handles that work for owners in the Portland Metro and Central Oregon.

Now back to the calendar.

A Practical Fall Checklist

Work the file in this order:

1. Confirm the property’s city. Portland city limits is a different packet than Tigard, Hillsboro, or Oregon City.

2. Confirm the last increase date so you do not break the 12-month rule.

3. Calculate 9.5% of current rent. That is the 2026 ceiling only.

4. If the effective date is January 1, 2027 or later, stop and wait for the September 2026 DAS 2027 percentage.

5. Add associated housing costs for Portland units — parking, storage, landlord-imposed utility charges.

6. Choose a number you can defend in the market, not just a number that fits under the cap.

7. Pull the current ORHA O1 or Portland O1PD from the ORHA form store.

8. Serve a full 90-day notice and keep proof.

9. Calendar the effective date and the next date you are allowed to raise rent again.

None of that is exciting. All of it is cheaper than unwinding a bad increase in February.

Common Pitfalls We Still See

Using last year’s percentage because it is close enough. It is not.

Raising rent $50 and adding a $75 parking fee on a Portland unit without running the combined associated-housing-cost change.

Serving a 30-day notice because the lease feels month-to-month and you forgot the 90-day rent-increase rule.

Dating the notice January 1 and mailing it December 10.

Writing the increase on letterhead instead of a current statutory notice.

Assuming a fixed-term lease automatically lets you raise rent at renewal without reading the agreement and the statute together.

Sources and Further Reading

• ORS Chapter 90 — rent increase limits and notice rules in ORS 90.323 and 90.324

• Oregon DAS rental increase limits — annual percentage publication

• Portland City Code 30.01.085 — renter additional protections and associated housing costs

• ORHA form store — current O1 / O1PD rent-increase notices

• PAROA — education, landlord forms, Helpline, and advocacy

• NWRPM — full-service management in the Portland Metro and Central Oregon

Written By: Christian Bryant,

President of both the Portland Area Rental Owners Association (PAROA) and Northwest Real Estate and Property Management (NWRPM).

If you want current landlord forms, education, and a group that shows up at the legislature, join PAROA. If you want the notices, the calendars, and the Portland overlay handled for you in the Portland Metro or Central Oregon, that is the work NWRPM does every week.