Limits the circumstances under which a landlord may disclose confidential information.
HB 4123 limits when landlords may disclose a tenant’s, former tenant’s, applicant’s, or household member’s confidential information. The bill defines confidential information broadly to include items such as date of birth, Social Security number or other government ID, phone number, email address, banking and tax information, employer information, immigration or citizenship status, records tied to certain tenant rights or domestic violence protections, and medical or disability records.
Under the bill, landlords generally may not disclose that information unless one of several exceptions applies. Those exceptions include separate written consent, compliance with a court order or judicial warrant or subpoena, communications needed for affordable housing compliance, background or credit screening, limited sharing of contact information for repairs or utilities, responding to a reference request from a prospective landlord, or use in insurance claims, collections, or legal or administrative actions. The bill also creates a private remedy: a person whose confidential information is knowingly disclosed in violation of the law may recover damages equal to twice the monthly rent for the tenancy or prospective tenancy.
The bill adds a new section to ORS chapter 90, Oregon’s landlord-tenant law, creating a statutory privacy restriction on landlord disclosures of tenant-related personal information. It narrows when landlords can share sensitive data and establishes a civil damages remedy for knowing violations, thereby increasing landlord compliance obligations and giving tenants and applicants a new enforcement tool. The act takes effect 91 days after adjournment of the 2026 regular session.
The bill appears to have broad support in the legislature. It passed the House committee unanimously, then passed the House floor 41-6, passed the Senate committee unanimously, and passed the Senate floor 25-3. The vote pattern suggests general agreement with the bill’s privacy protections and its limits on disclosure by landlords.
The main policy issue is the balance between tenant privacy and legitimate landlord or third-party needs for information. The bill permits disclosures for screening, repairs, affordable housing compliance, references, insurance, collections, and legal process, but it excludes administrative warrants and subpoenas, which may be a point of concern for those favoring broader access by government or creditors. The relatively small number of no votes on final passage suggests objections were limited, likely centered on the scope of the disclosure ban and the potential liability exposure for landlords.