Pet Policy Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Oregon law says, what's specific to Portland - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Oregon's landlord-tenant law names the charge - ORS 90.300(4) calls it a 'pet security deposit' - and states no dollar or months-of-rent maximum for it.
- Inside the city the amount question is answered locally: PCC 30.01.087.A caps the security deposit at one month's rent.
- Where last month's rent is also required, the cap is one-half of one month's rent on top of it - one ceiling, with no separate pet-deposit allowance above it.
- A refundable pet deposit has to be accounted for and refunded within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession.
- No pet security deposit may be charged for a service or companion animal a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation.
Understanding the Pet Policy Clause
A pet policy clause decides three things: whether the animal is allowed, what it costs you at signing, and what it costs you every month afterwards. In Portland the first cost has a question underneath it that most renters never ask - whether a pet deposit is deposit money at all.
Oregon answers that in its definitions. ORS 90.100(45) defines a security deposit as 'a refundable payment or deposit of money, however designated', and ORS 90.300(4) calls the pet version a 'pet security deposit'. Portland City Code 30.01.087.A then takes that same term and puts one ceiling on it.
Because the statute text was read from a faithful reproduction rather than the state's own published page. Confirm the current text of ORS 90.300 and ORS 90.302 before you rely on any of it in a dispute.
What renters assume
Renters read the pet deposit as its own charge - the price of the dog, sitting beside the security deposit and adding to it.
What is actually true
In Portland it is the same money. A refundable payment is a security deposit 'however designated', and PCC 30.01.087.A sets a single ceiling - one month's rent, or one-half month where last month's rent is also required - with no pet allowance above it.
One row on this chart carries a dollar figure: Denver's $300 pet deposit cap. Every other row is a dashed track, and those split into two shapes. Austin, Miami, Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia read no cap, while Los Angeles and New York City count pet money inside a one month's rent security ceiling, Phoenix inside one and a half months, and Atlanta inside two.
Portland sits in that second group, with one difference worth the whole page: the ceiling holding its pet money is the city's, not the state's. Seattle shows the same split from the other side - its row carries Washington's answer of no dollar cap, while SMC 7.24.038 holds a pet damage deposit to 25 percent of the first full month's rent. Read the chart as a map of which government answers the amount question, not as a ranking of who is cheapest.
Plain English Version
Picture one bucket at move-in rather than two. Portland decides how full that bucket may get, and a refundable pet deposit goes into it alongside the ordinary security deposit instead of sitting next to it. What the animal costs you every month is a separate line, and the lease prices that one as rent.
Pet Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Portland, OR
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
No pets are allowed in the building or on the Premises at any time. Tenants may be assessed labor cleanup charges (if applicable) for each violation. Tenants agree to an increase in the rental deposit up to the maximum allowed by law in the events of non-compliance with pet prohibitions. Reasonable accommodations accepted.
Quoted from the published opinion in Cohen v. Clark, 945 N.W.2d 792 (Iowa 2020). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“No pets are allowed”
This is the permission gate, and Oregon's pet money sits behind it. Once a pet is permitted, the monthly charge for it is rent rather than a fee: ORS 90.100(41)(a) defines rent as payment for the right of a tenant “and any permitted pet” to occupy the unit. ORS 90.323 then bars an increase in the first year of a tenancy other than week-to-week and requires at least 90 days' written notice after that. Our Oregon record is about what a permitted pet costs; it does not reach whether a landlord must say yes.
“Tenants may be assessed labor cleanup charges”
A charge is not whatever the lease calls it. ORS 90.100(45) defines a security deposit as “a refundable payment or deposit of money, however designated”, ORS 90.100(17) defines a fee, and ORS 90.302(1) provides that a landlord “may not require the payment of any fee except as provided in this section”. A cleanup charge answers to that list, not to its own label.
“an increase in the rental deposit up to the maximum allowed by law”
In Portland that maximum is the city's. PCC 30.01.087.A caps the security deposit at one month's rent, plus one-half of a month's rent where last month's rent is also required. That is a single ceiling with no separate pet-deposit allowance above it, and ORS 90.300(4) calls the pet version a pet security deposit, so a refundable pet deposit sits inside it.
“Reasonable accommodations accepted”
Oregon writes this into the subsection that names the pet deposit. ORS 90.300(4) provides that “a landlord may not charge a tenant a pet security deposit for keeping a service animal or companion animal that a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws.” In Cohen the landlord's own acceptance is what failed: waiving the ban so a neighbour could keep a support dog was held not to be a reasonable accommodation.
The no-pets clause was enforced - for the tenant who relied on it. A renter with a severe dog allergy signed first, in reliance on this clause. The landlord later waived it so a neighbour could keep an emotional support dog. The Iowa Supreme Court held that waiver was not a reasonable accommodation: the allergic tenant had priority in time, and the dog was a direct threat to her health that air purifiers and separate stairwells did not fix. She recovered on the no-pets clause and on the covenant of quiet enjoyment, and the case was sent back for damages of one month's rent. The point renters miss: an accommodation request is weighed against everyone in the building, not just against the landlord.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Oregon Law on Pet Policy Clause
- A refundable pet deposit is deposit money, not an extra on top of it: ORS 90.100(45) defines a security deposit as 'a refundable payment or deposit of money, however designated', and ORS 90.300(4) calls the pet version a 'pet security deposit', so in Portland it sits inside the PCC 30.01.087 ceiling and must be accounted for and refunded within 31 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession.
- A nonrefundable pet fee is a 'fee' as ORS 90.100(17) defines it, and ORS 90.302(1) provides that a landlord 'may not charge a fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated landlord expense and may not require the payment of any fee except as provided in this section'; under ORS 90.302(8) a tenant charged a fee in violation may recover twice actual damages or $300, whichever is greater.
- Monthly pet rent is rent rather than a fee - ORS 90.100(41)(a) defines rent as payment for the right of a tenant 'and any permitted pet' to occupy the dwelling unit - and ORS 90.323 limits rent increases: none in the first year of a tenancy other than week-to-week, at least 90 days' written notice after that, no more than once in any 12-month period, and no more than the maximum percentage calculated under ORS 90.324.
- Assistance animals carry no pet money: ORS 90.300(4) provides that 'a landlord may not charge a tenant a pet security deposit for keeping a service animal or companion animal that a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws.'
ORS 90.300; ORS 90.302 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Oregon's pet rules live in its definitions more than in a dollar figure. ORS 90.100(45) defines a security deposit as 'a refundable payment or deposit of money, however designated', and ORS 90.300(4) names the pet version a 'pet security deposit'. That section governs how the money is held, claimed and refunded, and it states no dollar or months-of-rent maximum for it.
The nonrefundable route has its own section. A pet fee is a 'fee' as ORS 90.100(17) defines it, and ORS 90.302(1) provides that a landlord 'may not charge a fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated landlord expense and may not require the payment of any fee except as provided in this section'. So the question to ask about a nonrefundable pet charge is which item in that section's own list it is meant to be.
That question has a price attached. Under ORS 90.302(8), a tenant charged a fee in violation may recover twice actual damages or $300, whichever is greater.
Monthly pet rent is treated as rent, not as a fee or a deposit: ORS 90.100(41)(a) defines rent as payment for the right of a tenant 'and any permitted pet' to occupy the unit. ORS 90.323 then governs increases - none in the first year of a tenancy other than week-to-week, at least 90 days' written notice after that, no more than once in any 12-month period, and no more than the maximum percentage calculated under ORS 90.324.
All of this is worth reading at the source before you quote a subsection back to a property manager. Statutes change, and the current published text is the version that decides your argument.
Oregon Tenant Protections
A refundable pet deposit is security deposit money however the lease designates it, so ORS 90.300 governs how it is held and claimed, and it must be accounted for and refunded within 31 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession.
ORS 90.302(1) provides that a landlord may not charge a fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated landlord expense and may not require payment of any fee except as that section provides, and a tenant charged a fee in violation may recover twice actual damages or $300, whichever is greater.
Under ORS 90.300(4) a landlord may not charge a pet security deposit for keeping a service animal or companion animal that a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws.
What's Specific to Portland
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Portland goes further than the state on the amount, and it does it in one line. PCC 30.01.087.A caps the security deposit at one month's rent, or, where the landlord also requires last month's rent, at one-half of one month's rent on top of it.
The part that matters for a pet is what the section does not do next. It sets a single deposit ceiling and adds no separate pet-deposit allowance above it, and it takes the term 'security deposit' from the state Act's own definition - the definition that covers a refundable payment 'however designated'. So the useful question at signing is not whether the pet deposit alone looks reasonable, but what every refundable line adds up to against that one ceiling.
There is a second path if your application was approved with conditions. A conditionally approved applicant may be charged up to one-half month's rent more, and that additional amount is payable in installments over up to three months rather than in a single payment at the door.
The ordinance carries a remedy. A landlord who fails to comply owes up to $250 per violation plus actual damages, attorney fees and costs, which is reason enough to get the deposit figure, its refundable label and any installment schedule written into the lease before you sign rather than argued about after.
A refundable payment is a security deposit 'however designated' under ORS 90.100(45), which is what pulls it inside the Portland ceiling and gets it accounted for at move-out.
Add every refundable line, pet money included, and test the total against one month's rent - or one-half month where last month's rent is also being collected.
PCC 30.01.087.A sets one ceiling and adds no separate pet-deposit allowance above it. A pet deposit stacked on a full deposit deserves an explanation before you pay it.
ORS 90.302(1) permits only the fees that section itself lists. Ask in writing which provision the charge is being made under before the money leaves your account.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- ORS 90.300; ORS 90.302, read on oregon.public.law. Oregon publishes the official text at www.oregonlegislature.gov.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Pet deposit stacked on a full deposit
PCC 30.01.087.A sets one security deposit ceiling and adds no separate pet allowance above it. Pet money on top of a full deposit is worth questioning before you sign.
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Nonrefundable pet fee at move-in
ORS 90.302(1) bars a beginning-of-tenancy fee for an anticipated landlord expense and permits only the fees that section lists. Ask which provision the charge falls under.
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The conditional-approval extra demanded at once
A conditionally approved applicant charged up to one-half month's rent more may pay it in installments over up to three months. A flat refusal is not what the section says.
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A deposit charged for an assistance animal
ORS 90.300(4) bars a pet security deposit for a service or companion animal that a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws.
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No written accounting at move-out
A pet security deposit has to be accounted for and refunded within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession. Open-ended deduction language collides with that.
Your Rights as a Portland Tenant
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One ceiling on the whole deposit
PCC 30.01.087.A holds the security deposit to one month's rent, or one-half of one month's rent where last month's rent is also required.
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Pet money counts inside it
A refundable payment is a security deposit 'however designated', and the city section adds no separate pet-deposit allowance above its limit.
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31 days for the accounting
A pet security deposit must be accounted for and refunded within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession.
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No deposit for an assistance animal
Under ORS 90.300(4) no pet security deposit may be charged for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability.
What To Do - Step by Step
List every pet charge on its own line
Refundable deposit, one-time fee, monthly pet rent, plus the breed and weight terms. Oregon treats those first three as three different kinds of money.
Find the word refundable
That single word decides whether the charge is deposit money sitting inside the Portland ceiling or a fee to be tested against ORS 90.302(1).
Add the deposits up before you sign
Total every refundable line against one month's rent, or one-half month where last month's rent is also collected. Do the arithmetic at the table, not afterwards.
Ask which provision a fee is charged under
Put it in email. ORS 90.302(1) permits only the fees that section itself lists, so the answer is either a citation or a charge worth pressing on.
Photograph the unit with the animal in mind
Floors, trim, carpet, door frames and screens, at move-in and again once the place is empty. That is what a 31-day accounting gets argued from.
Confirm the text, then put your objection in writing
Read the current ORS 90.300, ORS 90.302 and PCC 30.01.087.A, then email the manager. A city violation can cost a landlord up to $250 per violation plus actual damages, attorney fees and costs, and a local tenant help line or legal aid office can take it further.