If you are scared tonight
You still have rights in this unit. A landlord notice is not an FED. Keep the paper. Photograph every page. If it names a circuit court, a case number, or a date to appear, that is a case. Contact the Eviction Defense Project — or Oregon Law Help — before that first appearance. Show up. Do not sign a move-out in the hallway because someone said to. You do not have to solve it tonight.
Danger: 911. Crisis: 988. Domestic violence: 1-800-799-7233. Rent, shelter, food, utilities: 211info. Those are not the Eviction Defense Project.
Who the Eviction Defense Project actually is
On 8 September 2026 we opened oregonlawcenter.org/eviction-defense-project. The Eviction Defense Project is a program of the Oregon Law Center. It is free legal help for low-income tenants who have an eviction court case. It is statewide. It is not Legal Aid Services of Oregon, though oregonrentersrights.org — a LASO-branded handbook hub — points to EDP. Two legal-aid families. One court door for many FEDs.
They ask you to reach them before the first appearance, with the case number and the hearing date ready. Oregon FED numbers are often described with a year prefix; confirm the number on your summons. They publish that demand is high and that they may not reply to every message. That is capacity, not a judgment of your case.
Their own page says they do not provide rental assistance, do not refer to rent-assistance agencies, and no longer partner with those agencies. An older county flyer we have seen still described EDP as central intake for Oregon’s Eviction Prevention Rapid Response rent program. That is why we cite the live Law Center page, not a PDF you cannot date. Rent help is a different door — 211info, or the rent program the state currently names. EDP is the lawyer door.
CAT, 211info, and a handbook are not this docket
Community Alliance of Tenants is a tenants union. Education, organizing, sample letters, a hotline they publish. They are not the Eviction Defense Project. A CAT PDF will not appear for you.
211info.org finds rent, shelter, food, and utilities in Oregon and southwest Washington. It does not take an FED. You can call 211 after you have dated the summons. You should not substitute it for EDP.
oregonrentersrights.org is a self-help hub: a Guide to Landlord Tenant Law in Oregon, a manufactured-home-parks guide, and a legal-resources list that names LASO, the Oregon Law Center, the Oregon State Bar lawyer referral, EDP, and Portland code enforcement. Useful. Not the statute. Not an appearance.
What to do with an Oregon FED in your hand
- 1
Read the caption
Court name, case number, first appearance. Photograph every page. That file is the case.
- 2
Reach EDP or Oregon Law Help before first appearance
Their own page says to contact them before that date. Confirm the current form on oregonlawcenter.org/eviction-defense-project.
- 3
Do not skip court because you applied for rent help
EDP’s own page: show up, and do not sign anything before you talk to them. A missed appearance can end the case without you.
- 4
Rent help is a second call
211info, or the state rent program that is open this month. EDP is not that program.
Questions
Direct answers
Is the Eviction Defense Project the same as Community Alliance of Tenants?
No. EDP is a legal-aid program of the Oregon Law Center. CAT is a tenants union. 211info is regional 211. Three doors.
Does the Eviction Defense Project pay my rent?
No. On 8 September 2026 their live page said they do not provide rental assistance and no longer partner with rent-assistance agencies. Older flyers that still describe them as EPRR intake can lag. Confirm on oregonlawcenter.org. Use 211info for services.
Is oregonrentersrights.org the Eviction Defense Project?
No. It is a handbook hub — branded with Legal Aid Services of Oregon on the handbooks page we opened — that points to EDP. LASO is not the Oregon Law Center. The pointer is useful. It is not the intake.
When should I contact the Eviction Defense Project?
If a court is named, before the first appearance. Their own page says eviction court moves fast and to reach them before that date. Confirm the current intake there. Show up even if you have not heard back.
Can 211info take my Oregon eviction case?
No. 211info finds services. EDP or Oregon Law Help takes the FED. You can use both. They are still two calls.
What if I only have a landlord notice, not a court summons?
Keep it. Date it. That is not yet an FED. CAT or the oregonrentersrights.org handbook is a classroom. If a court is later named, switch doors the same day.
National answers on this desk
Last reviewed 8 September 2026. Legal information, not legal advice. Not a law firm. hello@renterprotection.org