New law gives Oregon tenants until 2022 to pay back rent

PORTLAND — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a measure into law Wednesday that gives tenants facing financial struggles during the coronavirus pandemic more time to pay their past-due rent.

People have until Feb. 28, 2022, to pay back rent, instead of a July deadline.

“Everyone deserves a warm, safe, dry place to call home — and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been particularly critical that Oregonians be able to stay in their homes,” Brown said.

Senate Bill 282 also protects renters from the long-term effects of not making payments on time by barring reporting to consumer credit agencies and removing back rents from consideration when submitting future rental applications. The law also bars landlords from denying applicants based on pandemic-era evictions and allows such evictions to be kept secret.

The new law also relaxes occupancy limits, with lawmakers saying some residents have needed to stay with friends and family because of financial or health issues during the pandemic. However, it does not extend Oregon’s eviction moratorium past June 30 or forgive back rent.

In March, more than 17 percent of Oregon renters — or nearly 158,000 — said they were not caught up on their rent payments, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Household Pulse Survey.

Of Oregon renters who answered the survey, 11 percent said they had no confidence they would be able to pay the next month’s rent.

“Senate Bill 282 gives the Oregonians hardest hit by economic impacts during the pandemic more time to recover and, thanks to a historic amount of rent assistance in Oregon, we have the resources to help those families get back on stable financial footing,” Brown said.