Landlord Entry Notice Requirements in Oregon

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Oregon's entry rule is a single statute: ORS 90.322, inside Oregon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ORS chapter 90), a modified version of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. It works as an effectively closed list: subsection (1) sets out the purposes a landlord may enter for, and subsection (5) adds that the landlord "has no other right of access except" a court order, the extended-absence entry allowed by ORS 90.410(2), or after the tenant abandons the unit. A lease cannot hand the landlord a broader right to come and go. The section was last amended in 2005; Oregon's 2026 legislative session changed several neighboring chapter-90 sections but left the entry statute untouched.

Advance notice required

For an ordinary, non-emergency entry the landlord must give "at least 24 hours' actual notice of the intent of the landlord to enter" (§ 90.322(1)(f)). The load-bearing word is actual — the notice has to actually reach you, not merely be sent. Oregon does not phrase this as a "presumption of reasonableness" the way some states do; 24 hours received is the floor. There is no shorter clock for showings: a landlord who wants to show the place without notice needs a separate signed agreement (below); otherwise a showing runs on the same 24-hour rule.

Reasons a landlord may enter

Section 90.322(1) lists the lawful reasons: to inspect the premises; make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supply necessary or agreed services; perform agreed yard maintenance or grounds keeping; or exhibit the unit to "prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers or contractors." Because subsection (5) says the landlord has "no other right of access except" a court order, ORS 90.410(2), or after abandonment, the list is effectively exclusive — a landlord cannot enter for a reason that isn't on it.

Permitted hours

Entry must be at "reasonable times" (§ 90.322(1)(f)); a written-repair-request entry likewise must be at "a reasonable time" unless the tenant's request names allowable times (§ 90.322(1)(c)). Oregon fixes no exact clock — no "7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m." window like Florida's. Emergencies are the exception: an emergency entry may happen "at any time."

When no notice is needed

The statute names several no-notice situations. The core one is a genuine emergency (§ 90.322(1)(b)) — a landlord may enter with no consent and no notice, at any time, for something like a burst pipe likely to cause serious damage; but if the landlord enters while you're away, they must give you actual notice within 24 hours after, stating the entry, its date and time, the nature of the emergency, and who entered. No advance notice is also needed once you request repairs in writing (the landlord may then enter on demand for up to seven days, § 90.322(1)(c)); under a signed sale-showing or yard-maintenance agreement (subsections (d) and (e)); to serve notices on the grounds outside your unit (§ 90.322(1)(a)); under a court order or ORS 90.410(2); and after you abandon or relinquish the unit (§ 90.322(5)).

Form and delivery of the notice

The statute requires "24 hours' actual notice." Unlike states that require a written notice reciting the date, time, and purpose, Oregon's general rule turns on receipt rather than form — what matters is that you actually get the 24 hours. The distinctive Oregon feature is on the tenant's side: even after valid notice, the landlord "may not enter if the tenant, after receiving the landlord's notice, denies consent to enter." You assert that denial one of two ways — by giving the landlord actual notice that you deny consent, or "by attaching a written notice of the denial in a secure manner to the main entrance" to your space — before or at the time the landlord tries to enter (§ 90.322(1)(f)). You cannot use this to block a lawful entry unreasonably (see remedies), but it puts a real stop in your hands for a specific entry.

Special rules for showings

To show the unit to a prospective buyer without giving 24-hour notice each time, the landlord needs a separate agreement that meets three conditions: it must be "executed at a time when the landlord is actively engaged in attempts to sell the premises," be "reflected in a writing separate from the rental agreement and signed by both parties," and be "supported by separate consideration recited in the agreement" (§ 90.322(1)(d)). All three are required — a clause buried in the lease does not count, and there must be genuine separate consideration. Without such an agreement, sale showings need the ordinary 24-hour actual notice. Showings to prospective new tenants get no separate no-notice track at all; they always run on the standard 24-hour rule.

Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry

Section 90.322(8) gives the tenant real teeth. If the landlord makes an unlawful entry, a lawful entry "in an unreasonable manner," or repeated otherwise-lawful demands that "have the effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant," the tenant may get an injunction to stop the conduct or terminate the rental agreement under ORS 90.360(1) — and may recover "actual damages not less than an amount equal to one week's rent" for a week-to-week tenancy or "one month's rent in all other cases." So even a tenant who can't prove a dollar loss has a guaranteed floor. The duty runs both ways: the landlord may not abuse access or use it to harass, and the tenant "may not unreasonably withhold consent" (§ 90.322(2)). If a tenant refuses lawful access, the landlord's answer is not force but injunctive relief or termination under ORS 90.392, plus actual damages (§ 90.322(7)).

What trips people up

"Actual notice" means you have to receive it. A landlord who slips a note under the door and enters exactly 24 hours later has not necessarily given valid notice if you never got it. The clock runs on actual receipt, not on when the landlord claims to have sent it.

You can say no to a specific entry — the right way. Even after proper 24-hour notice, § 90.322(1)(f) lets you deny consent to that entry by telling the landlord or by posting a written denial securely on your main entrance before they try to come in. But this is for a genuine, reasonable objection to a particular entry; you "may not unreasonably withhold consent" generally (§ 90.322(2)), and repeatedly blocking lawful access lets the landlord seek a court order or terminate the lease (§ 90.322(7)).

The no-notice sale-showing shortcut has three strings attached. A landlord can show the unit to buyers without notice only under a separate signed writing with its own consideration, made while actively selling (§ 90.322(1)(d)). Miss any one of the three and the ordinary 24-hour rule applies.

Common questions

Can my Oregon landlord enter without telling me first? Only in the situations the statute lists — chiefly a real emergency (§ 90.322(1)(b)), after you ask for repairs in writing (§ 90.322(1)(c)), or under a signed agreement. For an ordinary entry they must give at least 24 hours' actual notice and come only at a reasonable time (§ 90.322(1)(f)).

What counts as an emergency? Something that, "unless remedied immediately, is likely to cause serious damage to the premises" — a burst pipe or gas leak, not a routine check. If the landlord enters while you're out, they must tell you within 24 hours what happened, when, why, and who came in (§ 90.322(1)(b)).

My landlord entered without notice and nothing was damaged — can I still do anything? Yes. Section 90.322(8) sets a damages floor of at least one week's rent (week-to-week) or one month's rent (otherwise) for an unlawful entry, on top of any injunction or the right to end the lease, so you are not left empty-handed just because you can't show a specific loss.

Does my landlord need a fresh notice every time they show the place to buyers? Not if you both signed a separate sale-showing agreement meeting the three conditions in § 90.322(1)(d). Without that agreement, each showing needs its own 24-hour actual notice.

Statutes and sources

• Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.322 — the purposes a landlord may enter for and the "no other right of access" limit (subsections (1), (5)); no-notice emergency entry with a 24-hour after-notice duty (1)(b); written-repair-request entry (1)(c); the signed separate sale-showing agreement (1)(d); the general 24-hour actual-notice rule and the tenant's right to deny a specific entry (1)(f); the no-harassment / no-unreasonable-refusal duties (2); and the tenant and landlord remedies, including the one-week/one-month minimum damages (7), (8). https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors090.html (accessed 2026-07-11)