No, you will not be forcibly removed from your home on the date on the termination notice. The termination notice represents the first step in the legal process of residential eviction, that date is how long they have to wait to file an eviction case with the court. You will get notice of a first court date if they do file a case. That is also not an eviction yet. You do NOT have to move-out by the notice date even if you cannot pay the amount to cure in order to avoid an eviction. 

On the notice, there will be a proposed "cure." The "cure" is the way a person can resolve the notice without moving out or being evicted. Usually, this is a monetary amount (past owed rent, for example) that you can pay in order to avoid your landlord filing an eviction proceeding against you.

The only person who can evict you is a Judge, and the only person who can remove you or lock you out is the Sheriff. Your landlord has no authority to change the locks, remove you, or your belongings from your home.

The most common types of termination notices that landlords use in Nonpayment evictions are 10-Day notices and 30-Day notices. The exact title on the document varies.

On the notice, there will be an “amount to cure.” If you are able to pay that amount, at any time before a court trial, then the landlord is required to dismiss the case against you (per ORS 90.395).

The amount to cure differs based off of the type of notice. On a 10-day notice, the landlord can only ask for rent as the proposed cure. On a 30-day notice, the landlord can ask for the sum of rent, utilities, late fees, garbage, parking, pet rent, etc. as the proposed cure. Therefore, the type of notice you are served with can make a big difference in what you are required to pay to avoid eviction. 10-Day notices sometimes show a box listing the total amounts owing, but you are only required to pay the rents listed in the cure amount at that time. 

Note: Other types of termination notices are not addressed in this FAQ and have different notice forms, court timelines and procedures than discussed below, so be sure to learn more if your notice includes anything other than nonpayment (pets, noise, guests, unauthorized tenants, etc.)

When your landlord serves you with an eviction notice, that essentially freezes the amount to cure a possible eviction for the whole case. Rent does continue to add up, and it may be 1 or 2 months more by the time you have your first appearance at court, it still doesn't change what has to be paid in the court case- only the amount listed in the notice.

It is unlawful for a landlord to turn down your payment of the cure amount. Your landlord can refuse to accept any amount or payment less than the total listed as the cure, but not demand that you pay the total amount that has become due by time passing. Tenants should deliver the ATC in a certified payment form (money order or cashier’s check).

This means that if you are able to pay the amount on the eviction notice, then your landlord would have to take that amount, dismiss that eviction proceeding, and issue you a new notice to get the remainder balance- starting the process over.

After the eviction notice, you will receive a court summons for your first appearance and a copy of the complaint filed against you. Often, these come together in the form of one packet.

If an eviction case is filed by your Landlord after the 10 or 30 days have passed, you will receive a "Summons" with a copy of the landlord's filed "Complaint" on your door within 1 business day. The court clerks also mail a copy.

If the notice of termination and court case are due to nonpayment of rent or of rent and other costs or fees, the court hearing will be at least 15 days from the day they filed the case. 

Your landlord and often the owner of the building are the "Plaintiff" and you and everyone in your home are the "Defendants," which includes the people who are not named, often called "and all other" on the court documents. 

The Court date on the summons is called the "first appearance." This is mostly a role-call and scheduling type of hearing. It is the first time that the parties (Plaintiff Landlords and Defendant Tenants) have to appear in the county court for the eviction process (called an FED proceeding). The Summons court date is mandatory and failing to attend can result in a default eviction.

Most landlords are represented by an attorney while most tenants do not have legal representation and will be in front of the Judge as "pro se" (self-representation). Sometimes, tenants can receive legal representation day-of their first appearance through free, limited-scope representation offered at the courthouse by The Commons Law Center*, or through other programs sponsored by the City or County.

*Limited to the Multnomah County (Downtown and East County Courthouses) in Portland. Before we represent you, an engagement letter MUST be signed. Representation is not guaranteed.

A first appearance is the first step in a FED case. This is the first time that the parties (plaintiff aka landlord and defendant aka tenant) have to appear in circuit court in the eviction proceeding.

The summons will let you know what day and time you have to appear in court for your first appearance. You usually have the option to appear remotely for the first appearance, but you can also appear in person.

There are upsides to appearing in person, if you can. These upsides include negotiating with opposing counsel face to face, potentially getting free limited-scope legal help for that hearing from The Commons Law Center or for speaking with your landlord's representative, or potentially connecting with other agencies that may be there to offer various types of rental assistance.

Essentially: Roll-Call and Negotiation to see if the case can be settled by agreement between the landlord and the tenant.

It is NOT a Trial and YOU WILL NOT BE EVICTED unless you fail to attend the court hearing.  After the Judge confirms who is present for each case and who is missing, the parties are instructed to speak to each other outside the courtroom. See below for some options for negotiations.

If the Case doesn't resolve or either party wants a trial, then the Court will schedule that and order all parties to appear at that date and time with their evidence and witnesses. Court Forms will need to be filed before you leave the courthouse (or within the timeline a Judge tells you if you appear remotely). Trials are held within 15 days or the court's earliest availability after that- sometimes as far out as 4-5 weeks in Multnomah County.

Failing to attend the First  Appearance or any other court date will result in a "Default Judgment" against you. This IS an eviction on your record, but still does not allow a Landlord to lock you out. If you have missed court that you knew about, or received a Default Judgement in the mail or on your door - contact the court immediately.

Yes, you can potentially get a default eviction judgment vacated. Depending on how quickly you contact the court to make the request to "set-aside" or "vacate" the default judgment, you may be able to file a motion with the court, which is often a form available from the clerks at the courthouse or online. If filed within an allowable time (ideally within 1-4 days) the court will give you a new court date. The Judge will only decide whether to vacate the judgment at that hearing, getting the new court date does not mean the motion was granted yet, only that you can explain why it should be. Generally, judges will only agree to resetting the first appearance if you have a good reason for missing your first appearance, or if the other party agrees to it, although the Judge gets the final say.

If the judge agrees to vacate the default eviction judgment, then they will likely reset the first appearance (often times they add the case to the current day's docket- so you end up doing both hearings at that same date), and you can talk to the opposing party as though it were the first appearance.

If the judge does not vacate the default eviction judgment, then you will have an eviction on your record. The landlord will still have to get proper documents from the court to take to the sheriff. The sheriff may take 1-3 weeks to actually get to your home, and never come to your home that same day. Your Landlord cannot lock you out (ever!).

If you choose to set for trial, you will have to file an answer form with the court. This answer form basically tells the court why you think that the plaintiff-landlord is not entitled to possession of the premises (any defenses you may have). You can file the answer form at the court on the same day of your first appearance, or you can request some more time to file the form (especially if you’re appearing remotely). Here is a link to the statewide Answer to a Residential Eviction form:

https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Documents/FED-Answer.pdf

• Along with the answer form, you can fill out a couple forms to try to get a waiver of the filing fee incurred when filing the answer form. Often, this fee is $88. You can fill out a request for fee waiver form and a declaration. Then, the court clerk will determine whether you qualify for a filing fee waiver when you file your answer form. If you do not qualify, they can defer the fee until later on.
• In a nonpayment matter, the landlord can request that trial be set within a month. Often, trials are set later than a month due to the high volume of cases.
• When you set for trial, you will have until that trial date to pay the amount on your notice to cure it, enter into a move-out agreement with your landlord, or prepare for trial. If you choose to actually go to trial, you will want to get legal representation.
• If you pay the amount to cure your notice (either through rental assistance or your own means) or move-out, then the plaintiff-landlord will have to dismiss the case against you.

If you choose to enter into a move-out agreement with the plaintiff-landlord, then you will sign a stipulated agreement on the day of your first appearance. This agreement will be signed by both parties, and it will contain the date in which you agree to be out of your dwelling unit by. Both parties will enter the agreement into the record to let the court know that you have come to a resolution. The judge will go over the terms of the agreement with you.

If you enter into a move-out agreement, then the plaintiff-landlord will dismiss the eviction case against you because you have agreed to relinquish possession of the premises. While there will be no eviction on your record, there may be a remaining balance. The landlord may try to collect that debt from you (often, in small claims court) after the eviction is closed.

Be very careful what terms you agree to in a move-out agreement because the plaintiff-landlord can move forward with evicting you if you are not out by the date you said you would be. The plaintiff-landlord would do this through a declaration of noncompliance (with the terms of the agreement).

If you choose to enter into a payment plan with your landlord, then you will sign a stipulated agreement on the day of your first appearance. The agreement will be signed by both parties, and it will contain the dates of future payments. The idea with payment plans is to pay back your landlord little by little, over time. Both parties will enter the agreement into the record to let the court know that you have come to a resolution. The judge will go over the terms of the agreement with you.

Be very careful what terms you agree to in a payment plan because they are very punitive. If you miss a payment, you do not have the right to assert a defense, and the plaintiff-landlord can move forward with evicting you. The plaintiff-landlord would do this through a declaration of noncompliance (with the terms of the agreement).

In Oregon, an eviction will stay on your record for at least five years. Having an eviction on your record can make finding housing much harder because it can show up on background checks when you apply for housing. 

Yes and no. The matter will not be on your record as an eviction, but there will be a record of the proceeding. This will typically be on your record as “landlord-tenant: closed.” Prospective landlords should not hold a dismissed eviction proceeding against you.

Yes, you can get an eviction proceeding expunged from your record. The amount of time that you will have to wait to have the eviction expunged depends on the circumstances of your case.

You can try to get the record expunged yourself, or you can seek help to do so through a legal organization, or other program.

For more information about eviction expungement, see this resource: https://oregonlawhelp.org/topics/housing/rental-housing/evictions-termination-notices-and-landlord-lockouts/how-get-eviction-your-record-oregon.