Very few eviction cases filed in Oregon go to trial. More commonly, the case is settled using a stipulated agreement. When a landlord files an eviction case in Oregon, the court schedules a First Appearance hearing. What happens at that hearing determines how the case will proceed through the multi-step eviction process. If the tenant misses that hearing, a judgment of eviction will be issued against the tenant by default. If the landlord misses that hearing, the case will be dismissed. Landlords can also request that a case be dismissed at a First Appearance hearing, if the tenant has paid the amount on the notice or has moved-out. 

When both parties are present at the First Appearance hearing and the case remains unresolved, the two parties have two options; they can either settle the case using a stipulated agreement or request that the case be set for trial. More frequently than not, the parties chose to use a stipulated agreement instead of going to trial.

Stipulated agreements are a written agreement about the conditions under which the eviction case can be dismissed. At the First Appearance hearing, the judge will ask if both parties wish to take a few minutes to discuss the terms and conditions under which the landlord is willing to dismiss the case. If the tenant agrees to terms the landlord finds acceptable, the two parties will write out the terms of the agreement and submit that to the court. The courts provide a templated form that the parties can fil in at the court. This is what the court-provided form looks like in Multnomah County.  Oregon’s landlord/tenant law (ORS 105.146) establishes what can and cannot be included in stipulated agreement. If all of the terms and conditions of the agreement are met, the eviction case will eventually be dismissed.   

The circumstances under which the two sides discuss and decide the terms of the agreement vary widely from courthouse to courthouse. Depending on where in Oregon the eviction case is filed, the circumstances under which the tenant has to decide whether or not to sign a stipulated agreement vary widely. In some courthouses, the tenant is directed to speak with the landlord about a possible agreement before they are able to speak with a judge. In other courthouses, the judge will describe the tenants options to them before sending the tenant and the landlord away to discuss a possible agreement. In some counties, the court provides mediators to assist the parties in coming to an agreement; mediators do not serve as advocates for either party. If a tenant has an attorney or secures representation at the hearing, the attorney will advocate for the tenant in the negotiation. Depending on how many cases are on the docket on a given day the landlord and tenant may have more or less time to come to an agreement. 

The two most common types of stipulated agreements are agreements to move-out and agreements to stay-and-pay.

• Agreements to move-out include a date and time by which the tenant agrees to move-out of the unit. 

• Agreements to stay-and-pay allow the tenant to remain in the unit if they make any and all payments included in the agreement. Some agreements include a single payment and others include a payment plan with multiple payments. Agreements to stay-and-pay can also require that the tenant pay up to three months of future rent on time. 

• A smaller number of agreements in ‘for cause’ eviction cases may set other terms under which the tenant will change behaviors or become compliant with their lease.