Committee hears bill shortening tenant notice when a rented home is sold and adding relocation payment option

The House Committee on Housing and Homelessness held a public hearing April 16 on Senate Bill 586‑A, which would amend post‑first‑year termination rules to allow a landlord selling a dwelling to give a reduced 60‑day termination notice (instead of 90 days) when the landlord provides written evidence of an accepted purchase offer and pays the tenant an amount equal to one month’s periodic rent.

Senator Mark Meek, who carried the bill in the Senate, said the change responds to problems created after the 2019 enactment of Senate Bill 608, which limited no‑cause evictions and established a set of reasons landlords may terminate a tenancy after the first year. Meek told the committee that the 90‑day notice has complicated many sales, noting closings often take 30–45 days but can exceed 100 days once inspection periods and financing contingencies are included; that timing can make conventional mortgage financing and interest‑rate locks difficult for buyers who intend to occupy the property. Meek said the bill also removes a statutory restriction that had prevented the seller‑move‑in exception from applying to duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes.

Tenant speakers described personal hardship under existing law and expressed cautious support for measures that preserve tenant relocation time and financial assistance. Jeremy Rogers, general counsel and director of government affairs for Oregon Realtors, said his organization strongly supports the bill and that the current drafting reflects a negotiated compromise with the Oregon Law Center, which is neutral on the measure. Rogers explained the bill preserves the default 90‑day notice option; the 60‑day option becomes available only if the landlord provides written evidence of a bona fide accepted offer and pays the one‑month relocation amount.

Committee members asked several procedural questions. Representatives clarified that the 60‑day with payment is an option the landlord may choose (it is not optional for the tenant to refuse the shorter period once the landlord issues it with required payment). Committee members also asked about deposit return timing; counsel said state law generally allows up to 30 days for security deposit accounting and return but offered to confirm statutory details. Some members suggested amendments, including proposals to require the landlord to return the tenant’s security deposit at the time the relocation payment is issued so the tenant has funds to secure new housing.

Senator Meek said the bill passed the Senate unanimously (26–0) and that the change is intended to reduce fractured transactions where buyers cannot obtain conventional financing or are forced into investment‑loan categories because of existing termination rules.

No committee vote was taken at the hearing. Stakeholders present included tenant witnesses, Oregon Realtors and the Oregon Law Center (neutral).