Although Tel-Law information is periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.

If you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can help you. Online Lawyer Referral Service information and a fill-in form is available. Or you may contact the service by phone: The number to call from the Portland area is 503-684-3763 or toll-free from anywhere else in Oregon, 1-800-452-7636.

The following information regarding fees and deposits is brought to you as a public service by the lawyers of the State of Oregon. The material presented is general legal information intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.

Most residential landlords can require tenants to pay certain fees or deposits. The most common fee is a security deposit. Security deposits protect the landlord if the tenant fails to pay the rent, or causes a lot of damage to the rental. Your landlord cannot charge you for normal wear and tear. In fact, your landlord can only charge you for reasons that he or she documents. In Oregon, there is no minimum or maximum amount your landlord can charge for the security deposit. Your landlord does not have to pay you the interest gained on your security deposit.

If your landlord makes a change in your rental agreement, he or she may increase the security deposit by adding a charge related to that change. For example, if your landlord agrees to let you have a pet in the unit, he or she may increase your deposit. If your landlord asks for this increase after you are in the unit for a year, you have three months to pay the increase. Your landlord cannot ask for an increased security deposit in the first year unless terms and conditions of the rental agreement change.

Your landlord has to return your deposit within 31 days of the end of your rental agreement. If your landlord keeps any part of your deposit, he or she must notify you in writing and tell you why. This notice must be personally delivered or mailed within 31 days. If your landlord wrongfully keeps part or all of the money, you have one year to file a lawsuit for up to twice the amount of the money kept by your landlord.

You should carefully inspect and document the condition of the rental unit before moving in or out. Photographs and witnesses can be helpful in settling disputes later on.

Your landlord may also charge a fee for cleaning or other purposes. In order to charge a fee, he or she must clearly document what the charge is for. There is no maximum or minimum amount for fees; however, a landlord has a duty to act in good faith in all transactions with tenants by charging reasonable fees only. Although a landlord has no duty to refund cleaning or security fees, a landlord who charges both a fee and a deposit must deduct all costs of maintenance and repair of all tenant-caused problems first to the fee, then, if costs remain, to the deposit.

Prepaid rent is another common deposit requested by landlords. Prepaid rent is any payment required by the landlord for a monthly or weekly rent obligation that is not yet due. It is often referred to as "last month's rent."

You may apply the prepaid rent to your last month in the unit. If you move out owing rent, however, your landlord may take the rest of what you owe from your prepaid rent. Your landlord must give you the balance of your prepaid rent and a written explanation of what was kept and why.

When your rent payment is late, your landlord may charge a late fee. Your rental agreement must describe how the late charge is calculated, the date on which the rent payment is due, and the date on which a late fee becomes due. Your landlord must wait at least four days after rent is due to charge you a late fee. Nonpayment of a late charge alone is not grounds for eviction for nonpayment of rent (an exception is that in mobile home facilities, repeated late payments can be grounds for eviction). Nonpayment of a late charge may be grounds for a 30 day for- cause eviction.

Your landlord may impose interest charges on unpaid late fees. The interest must be simple interest that isn't higher than the rate allowed for court judgments. If your landlord improperly charges late fees or interest, he or she may be liable to you for violations of state debt collection laws.

A landlord may charge a prospective tenant an applicant screening fee. This fee covers the cost of obtaining information on the rental unit applicant. The landlord must tell you in writing what the screening investigation will involve and how much it will cost you. The fee cannot be more than the average actual cost of screening applicants and the landlord must give you a receipt for the fee.

If the landlord denies the application entirely or partly based on information from a screening agent, the landlord must tell you that is the reason at the time of the denial. The landlord has to give you the name and address of the screening agency. You have the right to dispute any inaccurate information.

A landlord can't charge a screening fee if no units are available unless you agree otherwise in writing. If the landlord charges you a screening fee and then doesn't screen you, he or she has to return the application fee within a reasonable time.

You may sue the landlord for $100 plus the amount of any screening fee charged if the landlord does not screen you and doesn't return the fee to you within a reasonable time or if the landlord does not accept you as a tenant within a reasonable time.

A landlord who has agreed to rent to you may ask for a "hold" deposit under some circumstances. This kind of deposit provides the landlord with some security if you decide not to move in. To charge this deposit, the landlord must give you a written statement describing the conditions for holding or refunding the deposit.

If you move into the unit, the landlord must either apply this deposit to the rent or refund it immediately to you. If you do not move in as agreed in writing, the landlord may keep the money.

If the landlord does not make the rental available as the parties agreed, the landlord has four days in which to allow you to collect the deposit or to mail it to you.

A landlord who does not follow the rules for "hold" deposits is liable to the tenant or applicant for $100 plus the deposit charged.

With only a few exceptions, a landlord may charge fees only once per tenancy.

The exceptions are:

1. late rent fees

2. a fee for dishonored checks

3. a penalty for a tenant's tampering with a working smoke detector, if a written rental agreement provides for such a penalty.

4. pet violations in mobile home parks, if the rental agreement and the facility's statement of policy provide a fee for such violations

Your landlord may require payment from you for utilities, television cable service and other services if you signed a rental agreement that makes you responsible for the costs. This kind of payment is called a service charge. Your landlord can add a small, additional charge for some limited services.

This information is from the Oregon State Bar's Tel-law service, a collection of recorded legal information messages prepared by the lawyers of Oregon. In addition to being online, the Tel-law service is accessible by telephone at 503-620-3000 or toll-free in Oregon only, 1-800-452-4776. A touch tone phone allows direct access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To receive a free Tel-law brochure listing the subjects available call 503-620-0222, ext. 0.