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Housing & Tenant · Rent Late Fees

Rent Late Fee Limit in Oregon

The most a landlord can charge you for paying rent late in Oregon, the grace period you may be owed, and what to do about an unfair fee, cited to the statute.

Confirmedagainst §90.260 · checked against a mirror of the official code (Cornell LII / Justia)Reviewed by Cholilurrohman · July 2026
Most a late fee can be · Oregon
4 days grace, then one of three permitted formulas
Hard cap
Oregon gives a four-day grace period and lets the landlord pick one of three permitted late-fee formulas under ORS 90.260, one of which recurs every five days.
Maximum late fee4 days grace, then one of three permitted formulas
Grace period4 days
Must be in the leaseRecommended
Statute§90.260

The cap and the grace period in Oregon

The most a late fee can be, when it can be charged, and whether it has to be in your lease.

Maximum late feeOregon does not set a single ceiling, it sets a menu, and the landlord must pick one form. First, a reasonable flat amount charged once per rental period. Second, a reasonable per-day amount beginning on the fifth day, capped at 6 percent of the flat-fee amount in form one. Third, 5 percent of the periodic rent, charged once for each succeeding five-day period. Watch the third: it is the only formula here that recurs, so a renter a month late can face several separate charges, unlike states that allow exactly one.
Grace periodA late fee becomes available where rent is not received by the fourth day of the rental period. Nothing can be charged before then.
Must be written in the leaseA late fee is enforceable only if your lease provides for it. Check the lease first.
Local ordinancePortland layers additional tenant rules on state law, so check your city rules. The state formulas are the statewide floor.
How it is enforcedThe firm limits are the four-day grace period and the requirement that the fee match one of the three permitted forms. A fee that fits none of them, or one charged before day five, exceeds ORS 90.260. Under the recurring third option, confirm the landlord is using the five-day period correctly rather than charging more often.
StatuteOr. Rev. Stat. §90.260
Recent or pending change

Oregon has amended related landlord-tenant sections recently and the FindLaw mirror has served superseded Oregon text before, so confirm the current wording of ORS 90.260 against the official statutes.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps if a Oregon late fee looks too high or came with no grace period. This is legal information, not legal advice.

  1. Identify which of the three formulas your lease uses

    Oregon lets the landlord pick a reasonable flat fee, a capped per-day fee, or 5 percent per succeeding five-day period. Read your lease to see which one applies, because the recurring option can add up.

  2. Count the four-day grace period

    A late fee is available only where rent is not received by the fourth day of the rental period. A fee before then is improper under ORS 90.260.

  3. Check the recurring option carefully

    If your lease uses the 5 percent per five-day period option, it can repeat, so confirm the landlord is applying it once per five-day period and not more often.

  4. Get local help

    A local Oregon legal aid office can confirm the fee against the permitted formulas. Search for legal aid in your area, and check any Portland rule.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change the fee that applies to your home.

What Oregon renters get wrong

Oregon does not set a ceiling, it sets a menu, and the third option is the one to watch because it is the only formula that recurs. Under ORS 90.260 a landlord must charge one of three forms: a reasonable flat amount once per rental period, a reasonable per-day amount beginning on the fifth day and capped at six percent of the flat-fee amount, or five percent of the periodic rent charged once for each succeeding five-day period. That last option means a renter who is a month late can face several separate charges. Oregon caps the daily option by tying it to the flat option, which stops the per-day route running away, but the recurring five-day option has no such brake, so it is the form to check for in your lease. There is a four-day grace period before any fee can attach. Compared with Connecticut and North Carolina, both of which allow exactly one charge per late payment, Oregon is more generous to landlords on the recurring option, so the practical Oregon question is which of the three formulas your lease actually uses.

Common questions

Which of the three Oregon formulas is in my lease?

Read the lease to find out. ORS 90.260 lets the landlord pick a reasonable flat fee once per period, a capped per-day fee from the fifth day, or 5 percent of rent per succeeding five-day period. Which one applies decides how the fee behaves.

Can the fee repeat every five days in Oregon?

Under the third option, yes. The 5 percent of periodic rent form is charged once for each succeeding five-day period, so a renter a month late can face several charges. The other two forms do not recur that way.

What makes a flat fee reasonable in Oregon?

The statute requires the flat amount to be reasonable but does not fix a number. A flat fee wildly out of proportion to the cost of late payment can be challenged, so compare it to your rent and the landlord likely costs.

When does the clock start in Oregon?

A late fee is available only where rent is not received by the fourth day of the rental period, so nothing can be charged before then. The per-day option specifically begins on the fifth day.

Primary source
→ Or. Rev. Stat. §90.260
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS 90.260, via oregon.public.law) · oregon.public.law
Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

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