Jared v. Harmon

“[A] tenant’s obligation to comply with ORS 90.325 is not dependent upon a landlord’s compliance with the habitability requirements in ORS 90.320.” Jared v. Harmon, 374 Or 381, 398-99 (2025).

Respondent did not provide a sewage disposal system for Petitioner’s recreational vehicle (RV), and Petitioner discharged the sewage water onto the ground. The county’s health department issued Respondent a citation for improperly discharging untreated sewage water, and Respondent subsequently brought a forcible entry and detainer (FED) action to evict Petitioner from the property. Petitioner counterclaimed, alleging that her statutory obligation to keep the rented space clean and sanitary depended on the landlord’s statutory obligation to maintain habitable conditions in the rented space by providing a sewage disposal system for the RV.

Petitioner assigned error to the trial court for denying her motion for involuntary dismissal of Respondent’s FED action and for rejecting her habitability counterclaims. The court reasoned that “a tenant’s obligation to comply with ORS 90.325 is not dependent upon a landlord’s compliance with the habitability requirements in ORS 90.320.” Jared v. Harmon, 374 Or 381 (2025). Therefore, Petitioner’s act of discharging sewage water onto the ground was not justified. The court concluded that both parties were responsible for the sewage problem and therefore the eviction was lawful. However, Petitioner was entitled to recover damages for Respondent’s failure to comply with the habitability requirement. The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in part and reversed in part.