MHCO Legal Counsel

Waiver of Termination of Tenancy. A landlord waives the right to terminate a rental agreement for a particular violation of the rental agreement or of law if the landlord:

• During three or more separate rental periods, accepts rent with knowledge of the violation by the tenant; or
• Accepts performance by a tenant that varies from the terms of the rental agreement.
• A landlord has not accepted rent for purposes of subsection (2) of this section if:
  • Within 10 days after receipt of the rent payment, the landlord refunds the rent; or
  • The rent payment is made in the form of a check that is dishonored.

Question: A home was purchased by a local dealer from a resident who had not paid rent for several months. The dealer then sold the home to another person who applied for tenancy and passed the screening criteria. The landlord wants the past due rent ($900) paid before permitting applicant to move into the home. Can the landlord go after the dealer to pay the past due rent? Can the landlord keep the applicant from moving in until the $900 is paid? Should the landlord have given some notice to the existing tenant, the dealer, and/or the prospective tenant, regarding how the unpaid rent should be handled? What about other expenses the tenant who sold the home ran up, such as utilities, late fees, maintenance clean up expenses, etc.? What do you suggest as far as notices to the dealer stating the amount of money owed? The dealer is not the lien holder.

Under Oregon law, anyone, who for compensation, arranges or undertakes or offers to undertake or submit a bid to construct, alter, repair...for another, any building...structure, project...or improvement attached to real estate, is a "contractor." See, ORS 701.055(3) Although there are several exceptions to this law, the ramifications of this broad definition can have a significant legal effect on park owners and managers who have work performed in their community. Here are some general rules to avoid liability when working with contractors:

Question: We have resident leaving the community. His wife left the park six months earlier due to divorce. How does the manager handle the deposit? Does the ex-wife get the entire check? What else should the manager be concerned with in this situation?

Question: A resident stops by the manager's office on the 5th of the month and offers to pay $150 of the $350 of rent that is due, and promising to pay the remaining $200 by the 15th of the month. The tenant claims that the landlord must accept the partial payment. What are the landlord's options? Can the landlord refuse the partial payment? Where do you draw the line - say a 72 hour notice has been issued - does that change the partial payment scenario?

Question: We recently had an applicant (with a criminal history) that management rejected for an RV spot we had available. The criminal background check disclosed that the applicant had a prior burglary and criminal mischief conviction in 2008. He pled guilty and was given a 20-day jail sentence, with 18 months’ probation. He accepted our rejection without argument, but upon reflection, I’m concerned whether our manager may have been too hasty in light of the recent court rulings and Department of Justice pronouncements on how we should use criminal background information when one applies for housing.  Should we have handled this any differently?

When understanding tenant responsibilities in manufactured housing communities, it is important to remember those statutes found in Oregon's landlord-tenant law. One such statute, ORS 90.740, bears closer examination. Under this statute, there are several obligations that frequently are not contained even in the community's own rules. This means that even though the rental agreement or rules fail to address the issue, it is still something that the landlord may enforce if violated. Conversely, of course, if the rules or rental agreement impose less stringent requirements upon the tenant, those provisions in the community documents will control. What follows is a summary of the law:

Oregon landlord-tenant law is complicated.  And mistakes in understanding the law frequently work against landlords.  The basic rule-of-thumb to remember is that the written document which defines the landlord-tenant relationship must be complete and must be followed.  While Oregon law does contain some restrictions upon what landlords can put into their rental agreements,[1] generally, they are far better off commencing the rental relationship with a strong, clear and fair written document. MHCO has gone to great lengths in making sure that its forms meet these criteria.  What follows is a list of ten tips and traps to remember when using the MHCO Rental Agreement form.

Question: A park we manage has a tree on one of the lots whose roots are damaging the home owner's driveway, and the neighbor's driveway. In addition, it is also damaging the skirt of the home owner's residence. Our park rules say that all plants, including trees on a lot, are the responsibility of the home owner who is leasing the lot. The home owners are also responsible for installing and maintaining their driveways and carports. We had an arborist come out and assess the tree and it is not currently a
"hazard tree". The arborist advised against cutting the roots that are damaging the driveways as the tree would then lack adequate support and become a hazard tree. The question is, what responsibility, if any, does the Park owner have for the tree and or driveway damage? I am particularly wondering if ORS 90.730 (3)(g) has any relevance.

Question: We have a 91 year old tenant who is bedridden, and his daughter who is 66 years old, is his caretaker. He is not coherent. Meanwhile, she continually lets people stay at the residence past the 14 day limit in our rules. The space is not maintained. We sent a 30 day notice in August for unauthorized residents. Unfortunately, the caretaker continues to let in more unauthorized residents, some of whom are suspected of burglaries in the park and the residents are very concerned about their safety and are demanding we evict. The caretaker's guests routinely break the rules. I have contacted the county "Adult and Senior Services". They have not been helpful. The residents want something to be done. I hate the thought of evicting a 91-year old man, just to get rid of his daughter.