You experienced housing discrimination

First thing: you have 1 year from when the discrimination happened to file a complaint. That clock is real and it doesn't wait. If this was more than a year ago, you can still talk to a lawyer about a civil lawsuit (2-year deadline for that). But the BOLI/HUD complaint window is 1 year.

If you're close to that deadline, skip ahead to Step 4 and file now.

Source: ORS 659A.875, Time limit for complaints | Oregon Law Help, Discrimination Deadlines

Discrimination doesn't always look like a slammed door. Here are forms it takes that are illegal in Oregon. Check any that apply to what you experienced:

• ☐ Landlord refused to rent to me after learning I'm trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming
• ☐ Landlord asked invasive questions about my gender, body, medical history, or surgical status
• ☐ Landlord refused to use my correct name or pronouns after I asked
• ☐ Landlord harassed me, or let other tenants harass me without addressing it
• ☐ Landlord treated me differently in maintenance, fees, or rules
• ☐ Landlord tried to evict me after learning I'm trans
• ☐ Landlord asked about my immigration status
• ☐ Something else, note what happened in your own words

Each of these can be the basis for a complaint. You don't need to have experienced multiple, one is enough.

Source: ORS 659A.421, Housing discrimination prohibited | ORS 90.388, Immigration status questions prohibited | BOLI Fair Housing

For a BOLI complaint to go anywhere, you need documentation. Gather what you can:

• Dates and times of incidents
• Names of people involved (landlord, leasing agent, maintenance, other tenants)
• Texts, emails, voicemails, rental application responses
• Witnesses and their contact info if possible
• Photos of any discriminatory signage or paperwork

You don't need a complete record. You just need enough to tell the story.

Three places can take your complaint. You can file with more than one, they coordinate.

Oregon BOLI Civil Rights: Start a complaint at complaints.boli.oregon.gov | Phone: 971-245-3844 | Email: boli_help@boli.oregon.gov. Free. They investigate and can pursue penalties up to $11,000 for first violations. More info on the BOLI process.

Fair Housing Council of Oregon: File at fhco.org/report-housing-discrimination | Phone: 1-800-424-3247 ext. 2. Free. They investigate and can also do fair housing testing.

HUD: File at hud.gov/complaints_home | Phone: 800-669-9777. Federal-level. Same 1-year deadline.

If you want an attorney on your side:

• ACLU of Oregon: Civil rights attorney matching | Email: info@aclu-or.org
• Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO): Phone: 503-224-4086 | lasoregon.org
• Oregon Law Center: Statewide office locator
• Lambda Legal Help Desk: Phone: 866-542-8336 (national LGBTQ+ legal)

File your complaint while it's fresh. Every day counts toward the one-year deadline.