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Today, managing attorney Troy Pickard wrote to the mayor and city council of Portland to demand long-overdue reform to the Portland Police Bureau:

Effective as of March 17, 2020, the emergency rule adopted by Multnomah County announced a pause on “all residential evictions in Multnomah County for tenants on the basis of nonpayment of rent due to wage loss resulting from COVID-19.” SUMMARY: ADVICE FOR TENANTS If you think will be unable to pay your rent on time…

Today, KGW aired an interview with Portland Defender’s managing attorney about the issue of “squatters” and whether squatters in Oregon have rights. The bottom line is that squatters in Oregon do not have any special rights, although the reality of Oregon’s court processes mean that, perversely, it may actually take longer for a homeowner to…

Portland Defender has been hard at work representing hundreds of clients in landlord-tenant matters. But we have ALSO been hard at work on a new law that will allow certain tenants to erase prior eviction cases! The Oregon Senate has just passed S.B. 873 and the same bill will hopefully soon be passed by the…

Last night, Portland Defender attorney Troy Pickard was interviewed once again as an expert in Landlord-Tenant law. The story featured local residents of an apartment complex in Tigard who will have their air conditioning units removed this week, just before a major heat wave will hit the Portland area. Troy spoke with reporter Ian Parker…

Many tenants call Portland Defender every week with questions about security deposits and fees charged by landlords. We’ve just put together an informative article that can help answer some of those questions: click here to learn more.

At the end of May 2013, the Oregon Supreme Court handed all Oregon tenants a major victory when their ruling in a case made it clear that tenants in Oregon have the ability to win retaliation cases against their landlords. In its opinion, the court ruled that for a tenant to win a retaliation claim…

When you start a new lease, most landlords will require you to pay a security deposit – make sure you get a receipt! Think of a security deposit like a loan you give to your landlord to ensure that you pay your rent and keep the place in good condition. If you don’t pay your…

If you live in the City of Portland, the city building inspector’s office can be one of your best friends when you’ve got a terrible landlord. Across the city, landlords are making tenants live in homes that are unhabitable – plumbing and electrical problems, rodents and insects, broken walls, floors and ceilings, garbage outside, excessive…