PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As the safe harbor from non-payment eviction comes to an end, Oregonians who are waiting for rent assistance must notify their landlords before the June 30 deadline or face eviction.
Passed in 2021, Senate Bill 891 protected renters from non-payment eviction while their rental applications were processing. The Oregon Law Center notes the legislation passed after lawmakers received an “overwhelming” number of applications.
As part of the law, renters would receive the protections so long as they gave their landlords documentation of their application by June 30, 2022, and paid the rent by September 30, 2022.
According to the Oregon Law Center, even though the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program is no longer accepting applications, those who applied and received less than 11 months of assistance, may be eligible fore additional funds.
“There is still time to protect yourself under the temporary safe harbor law, but you have to act fast. If you have an application pending, let your landlord know by June 30th. If you haven’t applied yet, do so asap and let your landlord know by June 30th. That will protect you from eviction for nonpayment of rent while the application is being processed or until September 30, 2022,” Becky Straus, Managing Attorney at the Oregon Law Center’s Eviction Defense Project said.
“Every day in court we see people dealing with an eviction because they didn’t know about the safe harbor eviction protections or that they can apply for rent assistance. We are asking everyone in the community to spread the word to everyone who needs rent assistance, get that application in and let your landlord know today,” Straus said.
While local rent assistance will still be available after the June 30 deadline, Oregon Law Center points out that extra eviction protections will not be available if rent assistance is delayed.
According to Oregon Law Center, there were 1,267 Oregon eviction filings in May, the highest number of the year.