by Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle
March 2, 2026
Oregon tenants whose landlords leak confidential information such as their immigration status or medical records could soon have a pathway to collect up to twice their monthly rent as a form of recourse.
Under House Bill 4123, passed by the Oregon Senate on Monday by a 24-3 vote, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle moved to strengthen existing protections for immigrants without permanent legal status that the Oregon Legislature enacted last year. The bill now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk for final consideration.
A 2025 Oregon law already ensures that landlords may not discriminate against tenants due to their immigration status while prohibiting release of information about their citizenship with the intent to harass, retaliate against, or intimidate. That also includes when a landlord threatens to release such information.
But that law didn’t go so far as to establish explicit monetary compensation for individuals who are victims of discrimination, instead empowering individuals to sue in court or challenge discriminatory decisions such as an eviction based on immigration status. Affordable housing, civil rights and domestic violence survivor advocates have urged lawmakers to support HB 4123 on the grounds that renting in Oregon shouldn’t further expose vulnerable communities.
If a landlord “knowingly violates” the bill’s protections, tenants whose confidential information has been disclosed could recover compensation that equals twice the amount of their monthly rent. Protected information would also include Social Security numbers and medical or disability records.
The bill’s passage marked another rare instance of Democrats and Republicans finding common ground to increase protections for Oregonians without permanent legal immigration status. A few Republicans in the Oregon House last week raised concerns about sharing gun owners’ personal information with the federal government under a bill bolstering the rollout of the voter-approved gun control law Measure 114.
Two Republicans spoke on the floor about their support for the measure, though no Democrats publicly commented on the legislation. Sen. Dick Anderson, a Republican from Lincoln City who serves as vice chair of the Senate Committee On Housing and Development, emphasized that the bill took a “simple, common sense” approach to safeguarding Oregonians’ privacy.
“This is a balanced approach that protects tenant privacy without burdening housing providers,” he said.
Landlords would still be able to share information such as a phone number or email address for maintenance or utility services. Tigard-based Multifamily NW, a lobby group that represents landlords of nearly 300,000 rental homes in the state, praised that exemption. The group wrote in Feb. 5 testimony that the change “meaningfully reduces risk for housing providers and helps distinguish between sensitive personal information and routine operational data.”
Landlords could also release confidential information if mandated by a court order or when using a grantor or auditor for compliance with affordable housing regulations. They could also disclose such information when conducting background or credit checks.
Oregon became the first sanctuary state in the nation in 1987, blocking law enforcement in the state from carrying out immigration enforcement activities. State law bars cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities without a court order. Democrats in this year’s short legislative session have been pushing to further codify protections for immigrants amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
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