This comprehensive resource provides a practical, question-and-answer overview of Oregon law and custom governing both public and private construction projects.
Topics covered include:
- Prompt payment acts and retainage — statutory payment timelines, penalty interest, and rights to stop work
- Pay-if-paid and pay-when-paid clauses — enforceability under Oregon law
- Project delivery systems — including lump sum competitive bid, CM/GC, and design-build for public projects, and common approaches for private work
- Heavily negotiated contract terms — price, scope, schedule, and risk allocation provisions such as indemnity, insurance, and delay/liquidated damages clauses
- Licensing requirements — for architects, engineers, landscape architects, contractors, and land surveyors
- Warranties — express and implied warranties for residential and commercial construction
- Payment and performance bonds — Oregon’s Little Miller Act requirements and claim procedures
- Statutes of limitation and repose — applicable periods for breach of contract, warranty, negligence, professional malpractice, and defect claims
- Enforceability of key contract clauses — liquidated damages, limitations of liability, no-damages-for-delay, and choice of law and forum provisions
The Oregon Construction Laws and Customs Q&A is part of Practical Law Real Estate’s most popular Q&A series and allows readers to compare answers across multiple jurisdictions. The full guide, current as of August 31, 2026, is available here: Construction Laws and Customs: Oregon Q&A