Oregon Rent Increase Laws 2026: The Statewide Cap Explained

TL;DR: Oregon's statewide rent cap under SB 608 (amended by SB 611 in 2023) limits most annual rent increases to 7% plus the West Region Consumer Price Index, with a hard ceiling of 10%. Buildings less than 15 years old are exempt, and landlords must give tenants at least 90 days' written notice before any increase takes effect. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services publishes the exact percentage each September for the following calendar year.

_Last reviewed: August 2026 · 6 min read_

If you own a rental in Oregon, you can't just pick a number and raise the rent. Since 2019, the state has run one of the only statewide rent caps in the country, and the rules got stricter in 2023. Here's what the cap actually limits, who's exempt, and what happens if you get the notice period wrong.

Okoniq Property Hub helps landlords track lease dates, notice deadlines, and rent history so a cap violation doesn't happen by accident.

What is Oregon's statewide rent increase cap, and how is it calculated?

Oregon's cap is a formula, not a flat number: 7% plus the West Region Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), with a maximum of 10% regardless of how high inflation runs. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) calculates and publishes the exact allowable percentage every September for the following calendar year, so the number changes annually.

Recent history shows how much it moves. In 2023, the cap hit 14.6% before the legislature capped future increases at 10% under SB 611. In 2024 and 2025, the published rate landed at 10%, the statutory ceiling, because CPI stayed elevated. For 2026, landlords should check the DAS bulletin directly before sending any increase notice, since a rate calculated even slightly wrong can trigger a tenant dispute or a claim for damages.

This law covers rent increases within a 12-month period on existing tenancies. It does not set what you can charge a new tenant moving into a vacant unit. If your rising costs are tied to things like 5 appliances quietly running up your electric bill or aging systems, those expenses factor into your pricing decisions, but the cap still applies to how much you can raise rent on a sitting tenant.

Which rental units are exempt from the cap?

New construction is the main exemption: any unit where the certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the increase date is not subject to the cap. That 15-year clock is a rolling window, so a building built in 2015 becomes subject to the cap starting in 2030.

Subsidized affordable housing units tied to government rent-restriction programs are also generally exempt, since their rents are already governed by separate federal or state formulas. Month-to-month week-to-week tenancies under 12 months and certain owner-occupied duplexes where the owner lives in one unit can fall outside the standard rules too, though the details are narrow enough that it's worth confirming with a local attorney before relying on either exemption.

Landlords doing major capital work, like a full roof replacement after noticing signs your roof is aging faster than it should or foundation repairs after spotting foundation cracks that are serious, sometimes assume large repairs justify a bigger increase. They don't. Oregon's cap doesn't carve out an exception for capital improvements the way some other states do.

How much notice must landlords give before raising rent in Oregon?

Landlords must give tenants at least 90 days' written notice before a rent increase takes effect, and that notice period cannot start until after the first year of the tenancy. That means a tenant who moved in on January 1 can't see a rent increase notice before their 12-month anniversary, and even then, the increase itself can't kick in until 90 days after the notice is delivered.

The notice must state the exact new rent amount and the effective date. A vague notice ("rent will increase soon") doesn't satisfy the statute. Multifamily property managers coordinating dozens of units, especially those juggling other seasonal upkeep like drainage jobs before the rainy season, often find it easier to batch notice dates by lease anniversary rather than tracking each one individually.

| Requirement | Oregon Rule | |---|---| | Minimum notice | 90 days written notice | | First-year protection | No increase allowed in the first 12 months of tenancy | | Increase frequency | Once per 12-month period | | Cap ceiling | 10% maximum, regardless of CPI |

What happens if a landlord violates the cap?

A tenant can sue for actual damages, three months' rent, and attorney fees if a landlord raises rent above the legal cap or without proper notice. That penalty structure means a mistake on a single unit can cost far more than the extra rent the landlord was trying to collect, which makes accurate recordkeeping worth the effort.

Courts have sided with tenants even when the landlord's error was a rounding mistake on the CPI calculation, not intentional overcharging. Because the allowable percentage changes every year and applies per unit, owner-operators managing several properties across different lease anniversaries are the ones most likely to slip up. Keeping a simple log of each unit's lease start date, last increase date, and current rent, similar to how you'd track signs your electrical panel needs an upgrade before a major system fails, prevents the kind of oversight that turns into a legal claim.

How does Oregon's cap compare to other states with rent control?

Oregon was the first state to pass a statewide cap in 2019, and a handful of others have followed with different formulas. California's AB 1482 caps increases at 5% plus local CPI, up to 10% total, which is close to Oregon's structure but calculated differently. Washington passed its own statewide cap in 2025, set at 7% plus CPI up to 10%, mirroring Oregon almost exactly. New York's rules apply only to specific rent-stabilized units in New York City rather than statewide, making Oregon's law broader in reach even though the percentage math looks similar across states.

FAQ

Does Oregon's rent cap apply to single-family homes?

Yes. Unlike some rent control laws that only cover multifamily buildings, Oregon's SB 608 cap applies to nearly all residential rentals statewide, including single-family homes and duplexes, unless a specific exemption like the 15-year new construction rule applies.

Can a landlord raise rent more than once a year in Oregon?

No. Oregon law limits rent increases to once every 12 months per unit, regardless of the percentage charged, so even a small increase can't be repeated twice within the same 12-month window.

Is the Oregon rent cap the same every year?

No. The percentage changes annually based on the West Region CPI, with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services publishing the new rate each September for the following calendar year, capped at a statutory maximum of 10%.

What counts as a new building exempt from the cap?

A rental unit is exempt if its certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the date of the rent increase. That exemption expires once the building passes its 15-year anniversary, at which point standard cap rules apply going forward.

Do month-to-month tenants get the same protections as annual lease tenants?

Yes, with one distinction. Month-to-month tenants are still protected by the 90-day notice rule and the annual cap, but the first-year no-increase protection is measured from the tenant's actual move-in date, not the lease type.

This is educational information, not legal advice. Consult a landlord-tenant attorney or check the current published rate directly with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services before sending any rent increase notice.