News

Oregon 2026 Legislative Session Recap: Housing Bills HB 4128, HB 4035, HB 4036

Spring 2026

Oregon's 2026 legislative session adjourned sine die in March with a focused housing-supply package. The bills do not change real estate license law directly but reshape the inventory and entitlement landscape that Oregon brokers work in.

HB 4128A requires that single-family homes are first made available to the general public before large institutional investors can buy them — closing what advocates called the "investor first-look" loophole. The bill passed both chambers and is awaiting the Governor's signature. HB 4035 refines and expands the one-time urban growth boundary expansion process Oregon established under SB 1537 in 2024: eligibility now extends to cities where 25% of households spend more than 30% of income on rent, the acreage cap rises from 100 to 150 acres for cities over 25,000 population, and expansion onto farmland or forest land is permitted when no other options exist. HB 4036, the top legislative priority of Housing Oregon, authorizes new Article XI-Q bonding authority to fund preservation of existing affordable housing — roughly $100M in new bonds for affordable housing without cuts to other state housing programs.

Brokers working investor-listing-side should note the HB 4128A first-look requirement — listing scripts and showing schedules may need a documented public-availability window before institutional offers are entertained. The Rental Housing Journal session recap covers the landlord-tenant angle; Housing Oregon's recap provides the affordable-housing financing picture; 1000 Friends of Oregon's overview contextualizes the land-use changes under HB 4035.

Major Oregon License Law Changes Effective Jan 1, 2026: Managing Principal Broker

Winter 2025

The biggest set of Oregon real estate license law changes in seven years took effect on January 1, 2026. HB 3137 and HB 2373, passed in the 2025 legislative session and implemented through OREA permanent rules adopted in late 2025, are now operative.

Three practical changes are in force as of January 1, 2026. Managing principal broker designation: every Oregon registered business name (RBN) now requires exactly one designated managing principal broker who carries statutory responsibility for the conduct of all associated brokers and branch offices under that RBN. The supervising-broker model that allowed loose attribution of broker activity across multiple principal brokers in a single firm is replaced with a single accountable designee. Team formation: real estate teams (one or more licensees operating under an RBN using a team name distinct from the RBN) must be approved by the managing principal broker before formation. Timeshare sales agent license: a narrower license category is now available for individuals selling only timeshares; timeshare-only agents must be supervised by a managing principal broker and their experience does not count toward principal broker requirements.

Firms that did not designate a managing principal broker before January 1, 2026 should resolve the gap quickly to avoid enforcement exposure; any timeshare sales operations should map agents to the new license structure. The Stoel Rives client alert covers the compliance gaps most firms will see; OREA's New Real Estate License Laws and Rules Effective January 1 page is the agency's primary-source briefing for licensees.

OREA Adopts Permanent Rules Implementing HB 3137 Managing Principal Broker

Fall 2025

The Oregon Real Estate Agency adopted permanent administrative rules implementing HB 3137 on October 9, 2025. The rules complete the regulatory framework for the new managing principal broker designation that goes into effect statewide on January 1, 2026. OREA published the notice of proposed rulemaking on August 25, 2025 and held the public comment period before finalizing the rule text in October.

The permanent rules cover the operational mechanics that the statute leaves to the agency: how an existing principal broker registers as the managing principal broker for a registered business name (RBN), how transitions between managing principal brokers are processed when a firm changes hands or a broker departs, what records the managing principal broker must maintain on associated brokers and branch offices, and how OREA verifies compliance during audits and complaints. Separately, on October 25, 2025, OREA published the notice of rulemaking for HB 2373 implementing the new timeshare sales agent license — that rulemaking continued into late 2025 with permanent rules expected before the January 1, 2026 effective date.

For firms preparing for the January 2026 transition, the permanent rules answer most of the operational questions that the bill text left open. The full rule package is available at OREA's HB 3137 Permanent Administrative Rules document; the HB 2373 rulemaking notice is at OREA's timeshare agent rulemaking notice.