Security Deposit Rules
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
- Our Oregon record for ORS 90.300 shows no dollar or months-of-rent maximum written into the state statute.
- Portland fills that gap: PCC 30.01.087 caps the security deposit at one month's rent, or one-half month if last month's rent is also collected.
- A conditionally approved applicant can be asked for up to one-half month's rent more, payable in installments over up to three months.
- You get a written accounting and the balance of your deposit within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you hand back possession.
- Check the current text of ORS 90.300 before you rely on the state half of this page.
Understanding the Security Deposit Rules
Two rules stack in Portland, and they point in opposite directions. Our Oregon record shows no statewide maximum in ORS 90.300, while Portland City Code 30.01.087 - a FAIR ordinance - puts a real ceiling on what you can be asked for at move-in.
Under the city rule the security deposit tops out at one month's rent, and at one-half of one month's rent if the landlord also requires last month's rent. Read the current statute text yourself before treating the no-cap answer as settled.
What renters assume
Most Portland renters hear "Oregon has no deposit cap" and assume a landlord can name any figure, so a three-month ask at signing feels unpleasant but legal.
What is actually true
Inside Portland it is the city that answers the question. PCC 30.01.087 holds the security deposit to one month's rent, or one-half month alongside last month's rent, and a violation can cost the landlord up to $250 per violation plus actual damages, attorney fees and costs.
Oregon sets no state ceiling on the deposit, so this chart's figures come from elsewhere: 1 month in Los Angeles and New York City, 1.5 in Phoenix, 2 in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Portland renters argue the amount from the lease and from local rules, not a statewide cap.
Plain English Version
Think of the deposit as a refundable hold, not a payment. Oregon's statute governs how the hold is kept and how fast it has to be released, and Portland's ordinance is what limits how big the hold can be in the first place.
Security Deposit Forfeiture 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.
THE TENANT MAY NOT APPLY OR DEDUCT ANY PORTION OF THE SECURITY DEPOSIT FROM THE LAST MONTH’S RENT OR USE OR APPLY SUCH SECURITY DEPOSIT AT ANY TIME IN LIEU OF PAYMENT OF RENT.
IF TENANT FAILS TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION, THE SECURITY DEPOSIT SHALL BE FORFEITED AND THE LANDLORD MAY RECOVER THE RENT DUE…
Quoted from the published opinion in Burgess v. Stroud, 17 Kan. App. 2d 560, 840 P.2d 1206 (1992). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“THE LAST MONTH’S RENT”
The clause treats last month's rent and the deposit as two separate pots, and Oregon does not. ORS 90.300 treats a last month's rent deposit as part of the security deposit, and Portland prices the pairing on exactly that basis: where the landlord requires last month's rent, no more than one-half of one month's rent may be collected as an additional security deposit, and where last month's rent is not required, the deposit may not exceed one month's rent. Combined, that is a move-in ceiling of about one and one-half months' rent - close to Seattle, which caps deposit plus nonrefundable move-in fees at one month's rent combined.
“SUCH SECURITY DEPOSIT AT ANY TIME”
Whatever the paragraph has already called a deposit is swept in here, so the labels attached at move-in are worth having on paper. ORS 90.300 requires the landlord to give you a receipt for any deposit paid. Oregon also takes one charge off the table outright: a landlord may not charge a pet security deposit for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. Arizona reaches the naming problem from the other side, counting security “however denominated” - prepaid rent included - against its one-and-a-half-month cap.
“SHALL BE FORFEITED”
Oregon answers this with paperwork, not argument. Our Oregon record puts the deadline at 31 days after the tenancy terminates and you deliver possession, by which point the landlord must give a written accounting stating the specific basis for any amount claimed and refund the balance - read the current wording of that section before you count on the number. A clause declaring the whole sum forfeited states no basis; it restates itself. The court that reversed the forfeiture here held the remedy is drastic, must be strictly construed, and needs an affirmative act by the tenant, not silence.
“MAY RECOVER THE RENT DUE”
The stacking half: the deposit is gone and the rent it would have covered is still claimed. Portland puts its own price on the deposit rules, and that price is measured by the breach rather than by what is owed at the end - a landlord in breach of Portland City Code 30.01.087 faces up to $250 per violation plus actual damages, attorney fees and costs. That is what the move-in paperwork earns its place for: the receipt, the amounts, and what each was called.
Forfeiture reversed - the clause was never triggered. The trial court had let the landlord keep the whole $400 deposit. On appeal the court held that statutory forfeiture “impose[s] a drastic remedy and must be strictly construed”, and so requires affirmative action by the tenant - not mere inaction or silence.
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 Security Deposit Rules
- Oregon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ORS 90.300) does not state any dollar or months-of-rent maximum for a security deposit; the cap question is left to local law.
- ORS 90.300 treats a last month's rent deposit as part of the security deposit and requires the landlord to give the tenant a receipt for any deposit paid.
- A landlord may not charge a pet security deposit for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability.
- Within 31 days after the tenancy terminates and the tenant delivers possession, the landlord must give a written accounting stating the specific basis for any amount claimed and refund the balance; wrongfully withheld amounts can be recovered at twice the amount.
- Portland PCC 30.01.087 effectively caps combined move-in deposits at about one and one-half months' rent (last month's rent plus one-half month deposit), with the conditional-approval add-on payable in installments over up to three months.
ORS 90.300 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Oregon writes its deposit rules around handling rather than size. Our record for ORS 90.300 sets no dollar figure and no months-of-rent maximum, which leaves the number in the paragraph you signed as the document that answers it unless a local ordinance says otherwise.
What the statute does fix is the paperwork. A last month's rent deposit counts as part of the security deposit, you are owed a receipt for any deposit you pay, and within 31 days after the tenancy terminates and you deliver possession the landlord must give you a written accounting stating the specific basis for every amount claimed and refund the rest. Amounts withheld wrongfully can be recovered at twice the amount.
One deposit is off the table entirely: a landlord may not charge a pet security deposit for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. Verify these points against the current published text of ORS 90.300 before acting on them.
Oregon Tenant Protections
Oregon requires a receipt for any deposit you pay and treats a last month's rent deposit as part of the security deposit. Within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession, you are owed a written accounting stating the specific basis for anything kept, plus a refund of the balance, and wrongfully withheld amounts can be recovered at twice the amount. No pet security deposit may be charged for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation.
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 is far stronger than the state here, and if you rent inside city limits the city rule is the one that decides your move-in bill. PCC 30.01.087 says that where the landlord requires last month's rent, no more than one-half of one month's rent may be collected as an additional security deposit; where last month's rent is not required, the security deposit may not exceed one month's rent. Combined, that lands at roughly one and one-half months' rent at signing.
There is a second path worth knowing if your application was approved with conditions. A conditionally approved applicant can be charged up to an extra one-half month's rent, and the landlord has to let you pay that additional deposit in installments over up to three months rather than in one lump at the door.
The ordinance has teeth. A violation exposes the landlord to up to $250 per violation plus actual damages, attorney fees and costs, which is why it is worth getting the deposit figure and any installment schedule written into the lease before you sign rather than argued about after.
You need the security deposit named on its own to test it against the Portland limits of one month's rent, or one-half month where last month's rent is also collected.
That matches ORS 90.300, which requires a written accounting stating the specific basis for any amount claimed within 31 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession.
Our Oregon record treats a last month's rent deposit as part of the security deposit. A lease that walls it off to make the total look smaller is not describing the statute.
PCC 30.01.087 lets a conditionally approved applicant be charged up to one-half month's rent more, but the landlord must allow installments over up to three months.
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. Oregon publishes the official text at www.oregonlegislature.gov.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Two full months demanded at signing
In Portland the security deposit is capped at one month's rent, or one-half month where last month's rent is collected too. Two clear months of deposit is over the city line.
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Deposit relabeled as a fee
A move-in charge, redecorating fee or key deposit can be an attempt to move money outside the PCC 30.01.087 ceiling. Ask in writing which dollars are refundable before you pay.
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Installments refused after conditional approval
If you were conditionally approved, the extra deposit of up to one-half month's rent must be payable in installments over up to three months. A flat refusal breaks the ordinance.
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A deposit charged for a service animal
Our Oregon record bars a pet security deposit for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. That charge should not appear at all.
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Move-out language with no written basis
A clause letting the landlord deduct "as needed" collides with the 31-day written accounting that has to state the specific basis for each amount claimed.
Your Rights as a Portland Tenant
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A Portland ceiling on the deposit
PCC 30.01.087 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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31 days for the accounting
After the tenancy terminates and you deliver possession, ORS 90.300 gives the landlord 31 days to send a written accounting and refund the balance.
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Twice the amount wrongly withheld
Our Oregon record allows a tenant to recover twice any amount the landlord withholds wrongfully from the deposit.
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Installments on a conditional-approval add-on
The extra deposit of up to one-half month's rent for a conditionally approved applicant must be payable over up to three months.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read the deposit line before you sign
Get the exact security deposit figure in the lease and check it against one month's rent, or one-half month if last month's rent is also being collected.
Ask for the installment schedule in writing
If your approval was conditional, put the up-to-three-month installment plan for the extra one-half month's rent on paper before you pay anything.
Keep the receipt for every dollar
Our Oregon record says you are owed a receipt for any deposit paid. Never hand over cash without paper naming what it was for.
Photograph the unit at move-in
Shoot every room, appliance, floor and existing scuff on day one and email the photos to yourself so the dates are not yours to argue about later.
Photograph it again once it is empty
Take the same shots after the last box is out, ideally with a witness present. These answer a damage claim you have not seen yet.
Count 31 days, then demand in writing
No accounting and no refund 31 days after you handed back possession? Send a written demand, and confirm the current text of ORS 90.300 before you file.