Landlord Resources

Landlord FAQ's

Our answer to that question is no. Many owners hope for a family instead of roommates, but family status is a protected class under the Federal Fair Housing Act, and marital status is a protected class under Oregon law. Trying to draw a line between people in a relationship or family and people who are just roommates creates a great deal of risk and liability (and our lawyers agree). As property managers, it is our job to minimize risk. This is why the best practice is to rent to whatever group qualifies first under the published screening criteria.

Yes. You can restrict the number of people who can live in a unit, but the best practice (also the recommendation of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon) is that landlords follow a “two plus one” occupancy standard. This means that there would be two people allowed per bedroom plus one extra person. Many landlords hope to be more restrictive than that, but being more restrictive than the 2x bedrooms +1 formula greatly increases your risk and liability. This is why our company subscribes to the “two plus one” standard.

Your property can absolutely be advertised as having a no pet policy. The important distinction to draw is that a “service/therapy/assistance/companion animal” is not a pet. The terms “assistance”, “companion”, “therapy”, and “service” animals are all interchangeable in terms of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and under the FHA, residents only need a note from any health care provider that the animal is necessary to accommodate their disability. No certification, registration, or training of the animal is required. Here is a link where HUD outlines reasonable accommodations under the FHA.
It is important not to confuse this with the standards for animals in public spaces. Public spaces, not covered by the FHA, are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that animals in public spaces (transit, restaurants, libraries, etc.) be a “service animal” that must be registered and trained. This is a much higher standard than housing.

We do work with owners who want to be involved in the maintenance of their properties and help to ensure that proper practices are followed (such as proper notice being given before entry, etc) but we handle any work being performed at move out that will be charged to the tenant security deposit. This ensures that proper steps are followed to ensure that the ORS 90.300 is adhered to.

We take care of all your property management needs