In court-decided eviction outcomes for The Dalles, OR, tenants prevail in roughly 57.0% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
152d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in The Dalles, OR until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 152 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$6.1–18.9k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in The Dalles, OR costs landlords $6,146 to $18,917 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$993
30% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in The Dalles, OR is $993 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 30% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
36.8%
of households
36.8% of occupied housing units in The Dalles, OR are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
10.7%
7.1% unemp.
10.7% of The Dalles, OR residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 7.1%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
GOP margin +5.7% (2024)
5.4
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
5.4
State political climate
Oregon legislature & governorship
7.2
Economic stress
10.7% poverty · 7.1% unemp.
6.7
Supply constraint
$993 average · 36.8% renters
6.6
Rent Control risk
29.8% of income on rent
6.2
Eviction process difficulty
152 days filing → judgment
6.4
Tenant organizing strength
36.8% renters
7.7
Housing court bias
County bench composition
5.8
Geographic context
Risk heat across The Dalles and the region
Click any city to see its score
How The Dalles compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Wasco County
High
#3of 9 cities
#3 of 9 cities in Wasco County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Oregon
Elevated
#173of 425 cities
#173 of 425 cities in Oregon for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
6.6
/ 10 · ELEVATED
The verdict
A Elevated-tier market.
Composite 6.6/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+4.0 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
152d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $993/mo. A contested eviction takes 152 days and costs $6,146–$18,917 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
36.8%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 15,917 residents, 36.8% rent. 30% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 10.7% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
5.4
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 5.4 and 5.4 (GOP margin +5.7% (2024)). State climate at 7.2, a tenant-leaning legislature.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
7.2
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 7.2/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 6.4, housing court bias 5.8, rent-control risk 6.2. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +1.4 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
6.7
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 6.7. Supply constraint: 6.6. The numbers behind those: 10.7% poverty, 7.1% unemployment, 30% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
The Dalles sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
The Dalles · 152d · ~$12.5k all-in ($82/day) · score 6.6National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in The Dalles, Oregon, presents an elevated-friction market where documented notices and proactive screening matter. The Eviction Risk Score is 6.6/10 (ELEVATED tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Elevated-friction market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
The Dalles is a city of 15,917 residents where 36.8% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 29.8% of income on rent. At an average rent of $993/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How The Dalles eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 6.4/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in The Dalles closes 152 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of The Dalles's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 5.8/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in The Dalles runs $6,146 to $18,917 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 152 days of typical timeline and $993/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 7.7/10 in The Dalles, and the city carries meaningful rent control exposure (6.2/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Oregon, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in The Dalles: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a ELEVATED tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Oregon's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $18,917 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in The Dalles
Trap · 6.2/10
Comparative benchmarking matters in markets like this. The Dalles's 5.4/10 is near the Oregon state average. Rent-control-risk sub-score: 6.2/10. See the nearby cities grid below for direct A-vs-B comparison.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant for any reason if they're on a month-to-month lease?
No. In The Dalles, like the rest of Oregon, you need "just cause" to terminate a tenancy after the first year, even on a month-to-month lease. This is a statewide requirement. Just cause reasons include non-payment of rent, lease violations, or specific landlord-related reasons like moving a family member in or selling the property to an owner-occupant. You can't just issue a 90-day no-cause notice after the first year.
Q2
What if my tenant damages the property beyond normal wear and tear?
Document the damage thoroughly with photos and videos before and after the tenant moves out. You can deduct the cost of repairs from their security deposit. Remember the 31-day deadline to return the deposit or provide an itemized statement. If the damage exceeds the deposit, you can pursue the tenant for the remaining balance in small claims court, but collecting can be difficult.
Q3
Can I increase the rent whenever I want in The Dalles?
Oregon has statewide rent control. Rent increases are capped annually. The maximum allowable increase is 7% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI). You also need to provide proper written notice (typically 90 days) for any rent increase. Check the current CPI annually to calculate the exact maximum. You can find more on this in our Oregon rent control rules.
Q4
My tenant is late with rent, but says they'll pay in a week. Should I wait to send the 10-day notice?
Do not wait. Send the 10-day pay-or-quit notice as soon as legally permissible (after the grace period, if any, expires). You can always rescind it if they pay, but you can't go back in time to issue it. Starting the clock immediately protects your interests and avoids unnecessary delays if they don't follow through on their promise. A verbal promise means nothing in court.
Q5
What if the tenant abandons the property? Can I just change the locks?
No, not without following specific legal procedures. You must have clear evidence of abandonment, typically including notice to the tenant, and then wait a specified period (usually 7 days after sending notice) before you can legally take possession. Changing locks prematurely can lead to serious legal trouble for you. Consult your attorney or ORS § 90 for the exact steps to avoid an illegal eviction claim.
A 6.6/10 places The Dalles in the 67th percentile of Oregon cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to The Dalles (6.6/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
