Oregon Tenant Data Privacy Law 2026: Confidential Information Can Be Disclosed in Only 7 Situations

The law's structure prohibits disclosure of confidential information except where one of the specifically listed exceptions applies.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

That's a meaningfully different legal posture than a general privacy best-practice recommendation; a landlord who discloses tenant information for a reason not on the specific exception list has violated the statute, regardless of how reasonable that reason might otherwise seem.

Protected confidential information includes date of birth, Social Security numbers and government-issued identification, phone numbers and email addresses, banking information, tax returns and W-2 statements, income sources, employer details, immigration or citizenship status, records of a tenant asserting rights such as habitability complaints or VAWA protections, and medical records or disability information.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

That's a wide-reaching list; a landlord's casual mention of a tenant's employer to an unrelated third party, not just an obviously sensitive disclosure like an immigration status comment, falls within this law's scope.

Among the protected categories, immigration or citizenship status was a specific focus during this bill's legislative process, reflecting concern about landlords disclosing that information in ways that could expose tenants to harm.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

A landlord who previously disclosed a tenant's immigration status to a third party, even informally, now faces statutory damages exposure for that specific conduct going forward.

The first listed exception allows disclosure when the individual has given written consent.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

A landlord who anticipates needing to share a tenant's information for a purpose outside the other 6 exceptions should get that consent in writing beforehand, rather than relying on an informal verbal agreement that would be harder to document if the disclosure were later challenged.

Disclosure is also permitted when required by a court order or judicial subpoena, or when necessary for affordable-housing compliance audits.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

These 2 exceptions recognize that landlords sometimes face independent legal obligations to disclose information, such as during litigation or a regulatory compliance review for subsidized housing; a landlord responding to a legitimate subpoena isn't violating this law by complying with it.

Using tenant information for background or credit screening is one of the 7 listed exceptions.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

A landlord's standard tenant-screening process, which inherently involves sharing an applicant's personal information with a screening company, remains lawful under this exception; the law doesn't disrupt the ordinary application-screening workflow.

Sharing phone or email contact information is permitted specifically when necessary for coordinating repairs, maintenance, or utilities.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

That exception is tied to contact information specifically, and to a defined operational purpose; it doesn't extend to sharing a tenant's financial or immigration information with a contractor or utility company under the same justification.

Responding to a reference request from a prospective landlord is a separate, specifically listed exception.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

A property manager providing a standard tenancy reference to another landlord considering the same applicant is working within this exception, provided the response sticks to information relevant to that reference rather than disclosing unrelated protected categories.

The final listed exception covers using confidential information in insurance claims, collections actions, or court proceedings.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

A landlord pursuing a collections action against a former tenant for unpaid rent can use that tenant's relevant financial information within that legal process; the exception is tied to those specific proceedings, not a general license to use the information however the landlord sees fit afterward.

A knowing violation triggers statutory damages equal to twice the monthly rent of the tenancy or prospective tenancy at issue.

[Cite: Or. Laws 2026 ch. 61]

That's a damages figure set independent of whatever actual harm the disclosure caused; a landlord facing a claim under this law is exposed to that statutory amount even if the tenant can't separately prove a specific financial loss resulted from the disclosure.

The practical starting point is training leasing and maintenance staff on exactly what counts as confidential information under this law and which of the 7 exceptions, if any, covers a given disclosure situation before it's shared.

For any disclosure that doesn't clearly fall within one of the 7 listed exceptions, getting written consent from the tenant first, rather than assuming a disclosure is reasonable or routine, is the safer compliance path given the statutory damages exposure.