Landlord Entering Without Notice in Oregon: What Are My Rights?
Oregon law limits when your landlord can enter your home and how much notice your landlord must give. This page explains the rules for regular visits, emergencies, and repairs. It also covers what you can do if your landlord locks you out, shuts off your utilities (water, electric, gas), or ignores the rules.
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In Oregon, your landlord can enter your home to check it or to fix things you agreed to or that are needed. Your landlord can also enter to give you services you agreed to or that are needed, or to do yard work you agreed to. Your landlord can also show your home to a buyer, a lender, a worker, or a new renter.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you ask your landlord in writing for repairs, your landlord can enter without extra notice to do them until they are finished. That permission ends 7 days after you ask, unless repairs are underway and your landlord is making a reasonable, timely effort to finish.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord must give you real notice at least 24 hours before entering your home and may enter only at reasonable times. The 24-hour rule does not apply if you and your landlord agree otherwise for that visit.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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In an emergency, your landlord can enter your home at any time without your consent or advance notice. An emergency includes a repair problem that could cause serious damage to your home if it is not fixed right away. If you were away, your landlord must tell you within 24 hours after entering: what happened, why, and who came in.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord gives you the required 24 hours' notice, you can still say no to that visit. You must tell your landlord you are refusing before or when your landlord tries to enter. You can do this by telling your landlord directly or by posting a written notice on your door.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord is legally allowed to enter and you refuse, your landlord can ask a court to order you to allow access. Your landlord can also end the lease through the eviction process and take back the home. Your landlord can collect money too, for the actual harm this caused.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord cannot abuse the right to enter your home or use it to harass you (bother or threaten you). At the same time, you cannot refuse a visit that follows the rules without a good reason.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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You should write down the date, time, and what happened every time your landlord enters or tries to enter your home. These notes and any photos help if you later need to show a court or a lawyer what your landlord did.
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Your landlord may not enter your home illegally or in an unreasonable way. Your landlord also may not demand entry so often that it becomes harassment (bothering you again), even if each demand alone is legal. If your landlord does this, you can ask a court to make it stop. You can also end the lease. Either way, you can collect money for it. If you pay rent weekly, that money is at least one week's rent. For any other lease, it is at least one month's rent. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord illegally locks you out of your home, or seriously threatens to, you can ask a court to let you back in. The same is true if your landlord shuts off your heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or another essential service on purpose. Instead of going to court, you can end the lease and get back your deposit and any rent you paid in advance. If a court later disagrees, you can owe the rent and face eviction. Get legal help first.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord illegally locks you out, you can collect money for it. The same is true if your landlord shuts off your heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or another essential service on purpose. You do not have to end the lease first to do this. You can collect up to 2 times your monthly rent, or 2 times your actual money losses, whichever is more. For example, 2 times a $1,200 monthly rent is $2,400. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord cannot take back your home by locking you out. Your landlord also cannot take it back by shutting off your heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or another essential service on purpose. Your landlord can only take back your home if you abandon it, if you give it up, or through the eviction process in court.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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In Oregon, some renters get an extra safety right for their locks. That right is for renters who have gone through domestic violence, sexual assault, a bias crime, or stalking. If this is true for you, you can ask your landlord to change your locks so you feel safe at home. You do not have to prove that it happened.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Say you asked for new locks under Oregon's safety rule for victims of some crimes. Your landlord must quickly change the locks at your cost, or let you change them yourself. If your landlord does not act quickly, you can change the locks yourself, but you must give your landlord a new key. Your landlord may later disagree, so keep a copy of your request. Get legal help first if you can.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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