For Cause Termination Notices

If the termination notice is asking you to move because you did something wrong, this is a for cause notice. 

A for cause notice might be called any of these things: 

• "Oregon Notice of Noncompliance,"  
• "Oregon Notice of Violation,"
• "Notice of For Cause Termination,"
• "Notice of Violation - Failure to Pay Money,"  
• "72-Hour Notice of Termination for Non-Payment of Rent," 
• "144-Hour Notice of Termination for Non-Payment of Rent," 
• "Notice of For Cause Termination," 
• "10-Day Notice of Termination for Repeat Violations," 
• "Pet Violation - First Notice," 
• "10-Day Pet Violation - Final Notice."
• "Notice of Parking Violation," 
• "24-Hour Notice of Termination,"
• "Drug-and-Alcohol Violation Notice," or
• Something else.

There are many kinds of for cause notices. There are no rules that say your landlord must use a particular form or a particular name. But there are rules about what must be in a for cause notice. 

Your landlord can give you this notice when your rent is eight or more days late. 

The notice must:

1. Say the correct amount of rent you owe;
2. Tell you that you must pay the late rent or move out within 10 days; 
3. Say you can stay if you pay the total amount of rent you owe within 10 days;
4. Explain where to get help paying your rent; 
5. Provide information on where to get legal help; 
6. Tell you that if you don't follow the deadlines in the notice, you risk losing your housing; and
7. Include a copy of this notice with information on where to find this information in other languages. 

If you don't pay all the rent you owe within 10 days, your landlord can start an eviction case. If you want to stop the eviction, you can still pay rent after the case is started, but you may have to pay your landlord's court fees.

Your landlord can give you this notice when your rent is five or more days late. 

The notice must:

1. Say the correct amount of rent you owe;
2. Tell you that you must pay the late rent or move out within 13 days; 
3. Say you can stay if you pay the total amount of rent you owe within 13 days;
4. Explain where to get help paying your rent; 
5. Provide information on where to get legal help; 
6. Tell you that if you don't follow the deadlines in the notice, you risk losing your housing; and
7. Include a copy of this notice with information on where to find this information in other languages. 

If you don't pay all the rent you owe within 13 days, your landlord can start an eviction case. If you want to stop the eviction, you can still pay rent after the case is started, but you may have to pay your landlord's court fees.

Your landlord can give you this notice if you rent by the week, and your rent is five or more days late. 

The notice must:

1. Say the correct amount of rent you owe;
2. Tell you that you must pay the late rent or move out within 72 hours; 
3. Say you can stay if you pay the total amount of rent you owe within 72 hours;
4. Explain where to get help paying your rent; 
5. Provide information on where to get legal help; 
6. Tell you that if you don't follow the deadlines in the notice, you risk losing your housing; and
7. Include a copy of this notice with information on where to find this information in other languages.  

If you don't pay all the rent you owe within 72 hours, your landlord can start an eviction case. If you want to stop the eviction, you can still pay rent after the case is started, but you may have to pay your landlord's court fees.

A landlord can give you a 30-day notice for not following your rental agreement, including not paying rent, late charges, utility or service charges, or other fees in a rental agreement. 

A 30-day notice must:

1. Say how you violated your rental agreement;
2. Tell you if you can fix the problem to avoid having to move out (not all violations have this option); 
3. Give an example of how you can fix the problem (if fixing the problem is an option); 
4. Give you 14 days (for most cases) to fix the problem; and 
5. Tell you that you have 30 days to move out if you do not fix the problem by the 14-day deadline. 
6. If the notice is for not paying rent, fees, or utilities, the notice must also include:
   1. Information about where to get help paying your rent; 
   2. Information about where to get legal help; 
   3. A warning that if you don't follow the deadlines in the notice, you risk losing your housing, and
   4. A copy of this notice with information in other languages. 

If you cause the same problem within six months of getting a 30-day notice for violating your rental agreement:

1. Your landlord can give you a 10-day notice to move out; 
2. You do not have another chance to fix the problem; and 
3. If you do not move out by the 10-day deadline, your landlord can start an eviction case. 

Your landlord can give you a 24-hour notice if you, your pet, or someone in your control:

• Seriously injures, or threatens to injure, another person at your rental property; 
• Puts another person at your rental property in danger, even if it's not on purpose; 
• Causes major damage to the rental property; or
• Does any other outrageous act at or near the rental property. 

What does "someone in your control" mean? This is any person you allow to visit or stay at the rental property if you know, or should know, they are likely to do one of these things.

If my pet caused the problem, can I get rid of it and stay? Yes. If your pet or assistance animal caused the problem and you get rid of the animal within 24 hours, you can stay. 

If a person caused the problem, can I fix it? No. If someone in your control caused the problem, you do not have the right to fix the problem.

Are you afraid of someone at the rental property? If someone at the rental property scares you, causes serious problems, and will not stay away, contact your local domestic violence program. They may be able to help you get a restraining order. 

Your landlord can give you this notice if your rental agreement says pets are not allowed. If you remove your pet within 10 days, you can stay. 

If you get another pet within six months of the first pet notice, your landlord can give you another 10-day pet violation notice. This time you will have to move out within 10 days. You don't get another chance to fix the problem.

Disability assistance animals are not pets. The pet violation rules do not apply to assistance animals that help someone with a disability. If your animal is an assistance animal:

1. Tell your landlord that your animal is an assistance animal; 
2. Explain you need the animal because of your disability; and 
3. Ask for a reasonable accommodation.

If you do not do this, your landlord can evict you.

If you live in a rental unit that prohibits drug and alcohol use, your landlord can give you a 48-hour termination notice, only if:

1. You have been there for less than two years; and 
2. You do not follow the drug and alcohol rules.

The notice must say: 

1. You have 24 hours to fix the problem or, if you don't, you must move out within 48 hours; and
2. How you can fix the problem. For example, it might say, “Do not use or have any drugs or alcohol.”

If you have lived there for more than two years, your landlord can't give you a 48-hour notice, but they can give you a 30-day for cause notice. 

For a building to qualify as drug- and alcohol-free housing, the following rules apply:

1. At least one renter in each unit must be a recovering alcoholic or addict.
2. The recovering renter must actively participate in an addiction recovery program, such as AA or NA.
3. The landlord must be a nonprofit corporation or a housing authority.
4. The landlord must maintain a drug- and alcohol-free environment.
5. The landlord must provide various forms of support for the residents' recovery.
6. There must be a written rental agreement explicitly stating that the housing is alcohol- and drug-free. This agreement should also outline that residents in recovery:
   1. Must actively engage in a recovery program;
   2. Must do drug testing; and
   3. Can face eviction for not following these rules.

Your landlord can give you this notice if you have another drug or alcohol violation within six months of your first violation notice. This time you will not get a chance to fix the problem. If you don’t move out within 24 hours, your landlord can evict you. 

If your landlord gives you three warning notices within one year, and you have a lease (not a month-to-month agreement), your landlord can refuse to renew your lease. 

This is sometimes called a "three strikes notice." but it could have a different name too. 

A three strikes notice must:

1. Be delivered to you at least 90 days before the date your lease ends;
2. List the exact reasons (strikes) for not renewing your lease; and
3. Give a move-out deadline that is not before the lease end date.

If your landlord doesn't follow these rules, you may have a legal defense and can fight the eviction. If you want to fight the eviction, get legal help as soon as possible. Eviction cases move quickly and you don't have much time. 

You can find free- and low-cost legal help by searching our Referral Database.