Gregory L Abbott

Protecting Consumers and Small Businesses in Oregon for Over 29 Years. Landlord-Tenant Matters, Debt Collection Issues, Wills/Probates/Estate Administration, Auto Accidents are All Mainstays of My Practice. Other Attorneys in Oregon Hire Me to Help - Shouldn't You Too?

• Contingent Fees
  I accept contingent fees in select cases after a thorough review
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Depending upon the case and the situation, I offer flat fees in some matters; contingent fees in some; and hourly rates in others.

Oregon

Since 1993

Washington

Since 2007

9th Circuit

Since 1994

Lewis & Clark Law School

J.D. (1993)

1989 - 1993

Honors: AmJur Award in Alternate Dispute Resolution, Winner of Mock Trial Competition

Knox College

B.A. (1975) | Anthropology

1970 - 1975

Activities: On Student Government

Q. Is it mandatory to provide and maintain "as-is" appliances in a Gresham, OR triplex?

March 7, 2025

A: The general rule is that a landlord has no obligation to provide appliances to a tenant. But if they do, they are obligated to maintain the appliances throughout the term of the rental agreement. Presumably a dwelling rents for more with appliances than without so part of a tenant's rent is for having the appliances available and a landlord's obligation thus includes maintaining said appliances. You are asking if you can somehow contract around that maintenance obligation. A tenant cannot contract to give up any rights guaranteed them by Oregon law. So, if me, I would VERY clearly state in a written rental agreement that the dwelling comes without any appliances (or at least without specified appliances) and I would offer to sell the appliances AS IS to the tenant at the start of the lease for a reasonable but small amount. IF the tenant wishes to purchase them, fine, write up a bill of sale (including serial numbers, description, etc. if applicable) and the appliances stay but maintenance is on the new tenant. If they do not wish to purchase them, then you would need to remove them before giving possession to the tenant. I don't guarantee that a Judge wouldn't find that to be an attempt by you to avoid your maintenance duties but you would at least have rather solid arguments in my opinion and likely be ok. The biggest thing is to fully document in writing your intent to not include them in the lease and to not just provide them to the tenants as "gifts". ... Read More

Q. Does first-year notice penalty apply after 3 years of occupancy?

February 13, 2025

A: It depends upon what your lease says about termination and whether you are terminating a fixed term lease or a month to month tenancy. Regardless, read your lease. The norm, however, is to require at least 30 days written notice (written means written - NOT email, text, verbal, etc.) and you would ordinarily owe rent through the end of that 30 days, regardless of how long you have been there.

Q. Can my landlord charge me a lease break fee after I provided a 30 day notice because I vacated a few days early?

January 27, 2025

A: If your lease terminated 12\19, and you gave written notice you would be out then, you owed rent through 12\19 (assuming your lease doesn't have different termination requirements - check it). But you don't owe any lease break fee and he still owed you a written accounting for your security deposit within 31 days. If you would have had more coming back but for his false charges, or didn't get an accounting within the time frame, you likely are entitled to twice the amount that should have been refunded you, plus your court costs and attorney's fees. Consider reviewing everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney to see exactly what rights you may have.