Overview

Residential eviction cases can be filed in two court types in Oregon, circuit courts and justice courts. Up until now, statewide research on evictions has only included filings in circuit courts, because those court records are accessible through a centralized online database run by the judicial department. Eviction cases can be filed in fourteen justice courts in Oregon. Because each justice court maintains their court’s records onsite, these eviction cases have previously been invisible to researchers and policymakers.

This study reports the first-ever full accounting of the number of eviction cases filed in Oregon, including cases filed in both court systems.

Key Findings

90% of the eviction cases filed in Oregon in 2022 and 2023 were filed in a circuit court. The remaining 10% were filed in a justice court.

In 2022, 20,841 eviction cases were filed in Oregon’s circuit and justice courts. Approximately one in thirty renter-occupied households had eviction cases filed against them that year.

In 2023, 24,860 eviction cases were filed in Oregon’s circuit and justice courts. One in twenty-five renter-occupied households in Oregon had eviction cases filed against them that year.

General Information:

Researchers: Colleen Carroll, Dr. Minji Cho, Dr. Lisa K. Bates, Dr. Alex Farrington, Azad Amir-Ghassemi, Safia Goldsmith, and Jacen Greene

Funding: Portland Housing Bureau, Oregon Housing and Community Services. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the views and opinions expressed in the report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Portland Housing Bureau or Oregon Housing and Community Services.

Citation Details: Carroll, Colleen; Cho, Minji; Bates, Lisa K.; Farrington, Alex; Amir-Ghassemi, Azad; Goldsmith, Safia; and Greene, Jacen. (2024) “Full Count of Eviction Cases Filed in Oregon Available for the First Time”. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/usp_fac/380/