Jared v. Harmon

A violation of habitability by a landlord does not permit a tenant to violate their own duties to keep the premises clean and sanitary

The petitioner here (tenant), rented an RV parking space on the respondent's, (landlord's) farm property that had no sewage disposal system. The tenant had connected her RV’s wastewater port to a pipe that pumped untreated sewage onto the ground about 50 feet from her RV. The county initially issued the landlord a Notice of Violation, leading the landlord to serve the tenant with a notice that required her to either clean up the sewage and stop using her current sewage disposal system, or be evicted. The tenant never cleaned up or ceased the improper sewage disposal and the landlord filed a FED action to evict. She counterclaimed under ORS 90.320, alleging that the landlord had violated his obligation to provide a sewage disposal system and breached his obligation to provide safe drinking water. At trial the court found for the landlord on his FED claim and on both of the tenant’s counter claims under ORS 90.320. On appeal, the tenant argued that her obligation under ORS 90.325 to keep the rented property clean was conditional upon the landlord complying with his obligations under ORS 90.320. The Oregon Supreme Court again found for the landlord on the FED claim, holding that the trial court did not err, because the tenant had violated ORS 90.325 by continuing to dump sewage even after notice to stop. Additionally the Court reversed the trial court’s finding as to the tenant’s first habitability violation because the lack of a sewage disposal system made the space uninhabitable. As that claim pertains to the FED claim, however, the landlord’s habitability violation did not force the tenant to continue to breach her duty as a tenant to keep the premises clean and sanitary. Therefore the court affirmed in part and reversed in part.