Union County is an eastern Oregon county of approximately 26,200 residents, situated in the Grande Ronde Valley between the Blue Mountains to the west and the Wallowa Mountains to the east. La Grande, the county seat and largest city, sits at 2,788 feet elevation in one of eastern Oregon’s most agriculturally productive valleys — a near-tableland of rich lake-bed silt with a 160-day growing season that has never experienced general crop failure, according to local agricultural tradition. The county’s economy rests on agriculture (wheat, cattle, hay, grass seed), timber, light manufacturing, state and federal government, and above all, Eastern Oregon University — a public liberal arts university whose presence in La Grande defines the city’s character and drives a consistent student rental demand that makes La Grande’s near-campus market behave differently from the rest of the county.
The county’s rental market is concentrated in La Grande, with secondary markets in the city of Union and Elgin. All landlord-tenant matters are governed by ORS Chapter 90. No local rent control exists in any Union County city. Eviction actions are filed in the Union County Circuit Court in La Grande.
County and city-specific rules that apply alongside Oregon state law
Category
Details
Rental Registration
No rental registration or landlord licensing requirement in Union County, La Grande, Union, Elgin, or any other county community as of 2026. ORS Chapter 90 disclosure requirements apply throughout — landlords must provide tenants with the name and address of the property owner or authorized manager and the person authorized to receive service of process at lease commencement.
Rent Control / Stabilization
No local rent control. Oregon’s statewide stabilization under ORS 90.323 applies — annual increases capped at 7% + CPI (9.5% for 2026), with 90 days’ notice for increases under 10% and 180 days for 10% or more. New construction (certificate of occupancy within 15 years) is exempt. In La Grande’s tight near-campus market, the stabilization cap is a meaningful constraint on annual renewals. La Grande’s overall housing market is moderate in price, making the cap relevant but not dramatically constraining for most properties.
Eastern Oregon University: The Market Driver
Eastern Oregon University (EOU) in La Grande is the single most important force shaping Union County’s rental market. EOU is a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000–3,500 students, a significant portion of whom seek off-campus housing in the neighborhoods adjacent to the campus. The university also employs several hundred faculty, academic staff, administrative, and facilities personnel who represent the most stable professional tenant profiles in the La Grande market. Near-campus neighborhoods in La Grande fill quickly each fall and experience turnover in late spring at the end of the academic year — the same seasonal pattern that characterizes university rental markets throughout Oregon. Student applicants without independent income meeting conventional screening thresholds should be required to provide guarantor co-signers. EOU faculty and staff represent the most financially stable long-term tenant segment in the county.
Grande Ronde Valley Economy
Beyond EOU, Union County’s employment base rests on a combination of agricultural production in the Grande Ronde Valley (wheat, cattle, hay, grass seed, mint), timber and forest products from the Blue Mountain national forest lands (approximately 47% of the county is USFS-managed), light manufacturing, and state and federal government employment. Grande Ronde Valley Community Hospital (now part of the Grande Ronde Hospital system) is a significant healthcare employer in La Grande. Union County government employees, Oregon Department of Transportation (La Grande has a significant ODOT district presence), and federal land management agency employees (USFS, BLM) represent stable, multi-year tenant profiles in the La Grande market.
City of Union & Elgin
The city of Union (~1,800), located south of La Grande, is the county’s historic second city — the community that once traded the county seat designation back and forth with La Grande until 1905. Today Union is a quiet agricultural community with some tourism appeal given its well-preserved Victorian-era downtown and proximity to Catherine Creek State Park. Elgin (~1,600), to the north, serves the surrounding farming and ranching community. Both cities operate under state law only; no local ordinances apply. The rental market in each is extremely thin, serving primarily local government, school district, and agricultural employees.
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Union County’s location between the Blue and Wallowa mountains makes it a gateway to year-round outdoor recreation — skiing at Spout Springs/Meacham and Tollgate, hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Remote workers and outdoor recreation enthusiasts represent a small but growing segment of in-migration attracted by the Grande Ronde Valley’s affordability, natural setting, and relative remoteness from major urban centers.
Security Deposits & Rental Assistance
No statutory deposit cap in Oregon. Return within 31 days with written itemized accounting (ORS 90.300). Double damages plus attorney fees for wrongful withholding. Rental assistance notice required with every 72-hour nonpayment notice (ORS 90.395). Oregon 211 and Community Connection of Northeast Oregon are the primary local rental assistance resources. Include current contact information with every nonpayment notice.
ORS Chapter 90 statutes, notice requirements, and landlord rights that apply in Union County
⚡ Quick Overview
10
Days Notice (Nonpayment)
30
Days Notice (Violation)
30-60
Avg Total Days
$$88-270
Filing Fee (Approx)
💰 Nonpayment of Rent
Notice Type10-Day Notice of Nonpayment (or 13-Day if served on day 5)
Notice Period10 days
Tenant Can Cure?Yes
Days to Hearing7-14 days
Days to Writ4 days
Total Estimated Timeline30-60 days
Total Estimated Cost$200-600
⚠️ Watch Out
CRITICAL: 4-day grace period before notice can be served. 10-day notice can only be served on or after 8th day of rental period. 13-day notice can be served on or after 5th day. Must include mandatory Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent notice per HB 2001 (2023) with rental assistance info in multiple languages - court dismisses without it. Accepting partial rent may invalidate notice. Court MUST dismiss FED if tenant pays all rent or rental assistance is received before judgment. Statewide rent control (SB 608): 7%+CPI cap (max 10% per SB 611). Just cause eviction required after first year of occupancy.
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the Circuit Court - FED (Forcible Entry and Detainer). Pay the filing fee (~$$88-270).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Oregon eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Oregon attorney or local legal aid organization.
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⚠️ Disclaimer: These calculations are estimates based on state statutes and typical court timelines. Actual results vary by county, court backlog, and case specifics. Always verify current requirements with your local courthouse. This is not legal advice.
Grande Ronde Valley between the Blue and Wallowa Mountains — Eastern Oregon University drives La Grande’s student rental market. Agriculture (wheat, cattle, hay), timber, USFS/BLM government employment. City of Union’s historic Victorian downtown. Outdoor recreation gateway. No local rent control. State law only throughout.
Union County
Screen Before You Sign
Verify income at 3x rent. EOU faculty, staff, and administrators are the most stable La Grande profiles. Grande Ronde Hospital healthcare workers, USFS and BLM district employees, ODOT La Grande district staff, and Union County government workers are similarly reliable. EOU student applicants: require guarantor co-signers. Include Community Connection of Northeast Oregon and Oregon 211 with every nonpayment notice.
A Landlord’s Guide to Renting in Union County, Oregon
Union County is eastern Oregon distilled to a particularly pleasant form: a fertile mountain valley with reliable rainfall, a genuine small city with a university at its center, a historic Victorian-era second city that once competed for the county seat, and a surrounding landscape of wheat fields, cattle ranches, and national forest that stretches east toward the Wallowa Mountains and west into the Blue Mountain timber country. La Grande is a university town in the most complete sense — a community where Eastern Oregon University shapes the rhythm of the year, the character of the neighborhoods, and the demand for rental housing in ways that landlords need to understand to operate effectively.
La Grande: An EOU University Town
Eastern Oregon University, founded in La Grande in 1929, is the defining institution of Union County’s rental market. With approximately 3,000–3,500 students and several hundred faculty and staff, EOU generates consistent annual demand for off-campus housing in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Near-campus properties in La Grande fill quickly each fall and experience predictable turnover in late May when the academic year ends. This cycle — familiar to anyone who has invested near a university in Oregon — creates both a reliable annual demand rhythm and the management challenge of summer vacancy and fall lease-up that is the university market’s characteristic operational pattern.
EOU’s faculty and staff are the most desirable long-term tenant profiles in La Grande. University employees earn stable salaries, have multi-year employment contracts, and are embedded in the community in ways that reduce turnover risk. Student tenants require guarantor co-signer agreements when their independent income does not meet conventional 3x monthly income thresholds — a standard practice for university markets throughout Oregon that is appropriate and legally permissible. Student tenants can be excellent tenants or challenging ones; the guarantor structure provides the risk mitigation that makes them workable.
The Valley Economy Beyond the University
Grande Ronde Hospital, Union County government, the Oregon Department of Transportation’s La Grande district, and the U.S. Forest Service (which manages approximately 47% of Union County’s land area from La Grande district offices) provide the non-university anchor of La Grande’s professional employment base. These government and healthcare employers produce the kind of stable, multi-year tenants that complement the university market’s seasonal turnover cycle. Tenants employed in federal and state government positions tend to maintain longer tenancies and more consistent payment histories than the student population.
The Grande Ronde Valley’s agricultural economy — wheat, cattle, hay, grass seed, and mint farming across the valley floor — employs farm workers and ranch hands whose housing needs in the rural county and in La Grande represent a smaller but consistent segment of the rental market. The 160-day growing season and stable rainfall that have made the Grande Ronde Valley one of eastern Oregon’s most reliably productive agricultural areas also make it an attractive place for the kind of rural lifestyle in-migration that remote work has accelerated in recent years.
Oregon Law in the Grande Ronde Valley
ORS Chapter 90 applies without modification throughout Union County. The statewide stabilization cap, the 90-day notice requirement for increases under 10%, the just-cause eviction framework after year one, and the rental assistance notice requirement (ORS 90.395) all apply. Community Connection of Northeast Oregon is the primary local rental assistance resource and should be included with current contact information on every 72-hour nonpayment notice. All eviction actions are filed in the Union County Circuit Court in La Grande — a straightforward process for a county without the complexities of Portland’s local ordinance layer or the multi-city logistics challenges of larger eastern Oregon counties.
Union County landlord-tenant matters are governed by ORS Chapter 90, Oregon’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Nonpayment notice: 72 hours (ORS 90.394). Lease violation: 30 days with right to cure (ORS 90.392). Extreme violations: 24 hours (ORS 90.396). No-cause termination after 1 year: 90 days + qualifying reason + 1 month relocation assistance (ORS 90.427). Rent stabilization: 7% + CPI annually (ORS 90.323). Security deposit return: 31 days (ORS 90.300). No local rent control. EOU student applicants: guarantor co-signers recommended. Evictions filed in Union County Circuit Court, La Grande. Consult a licensed Oregon attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about landlord-tenant law in Union County, Oregon and is not legal advice. Laws change frequently. Always verify current requirements with a licensed Oregon attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
