Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in Oregon

In Oregon, a landlord must give written notice before storing, selling or disposing of left-behind property; the tenant has at least 5 days after hand delivery or 8 days after mailing to respond, then 15 days to remove the items.

Last checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Written notice required: Yes, delivered in person or by first class mail; The notice must be personally delivered or mailed to the premises, any known post office box and any forwarding address.
Holding period: 5 days after hand delivery (8 if mailed); Minimum response date: 5 days after hand delivery or 8 days after mailing. If the tenant makes contact, they then have 15 days to remove the property (30 for manufactured dwellings and floating homes).
After the holding period: Sell it, or dispose of it if worth $1,000 or less; Items may be thrown away or given to a nonprofit or unrelated person if worth $1,000 or less or not worth the cost of storage and sale; the landlord may not keep them for personal use.

Sources

Last checked October 2026

The rules in Oregon

Does a landlord in Oregon have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

Yes, delivered in person or by first class mail. Written notice required in Oregon: yes, delivered in person or by first class mail. The notice must be personally delivered or mailed to the premises, any known post office box and any forwarding address.

How long must a landlord in Oregon keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in Oregon: 5 days after hand delivery (8 if mailed). Minimum response date: 5 days after hand delivery or 8 days after mailing. If the tenant makes contact, they then have 15 days to remove the property (30 for manufactured dwellings and floating homes).

What can a landlord in Oregon do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in Oregon: Sell it, or dispose of it if worth $1,000 or less. Items may be thrown away or given to a nonprofit or unrelated person if worth $1,000 or less or not worth the cost of storage and sale; the landlord may not keep them for personal use.

Where do the Oregon tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from Or. Rev. Stat. 90.425. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

Separate rules and longer timelines apply to recreational vehicles, manufactured dwellings and floating homes, including notice to lienholders and county officials. The section was last amended in 2023 (2023 c.250).

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.

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