Salem lawmakers heard Monday, March 27, 2023, about a bill that would replace Oregon’s rent control law four years after it went into effect.
Lawmakers say SB 611 is responding to double-digit rent increases across the state that tenant advocates say are leading to homelessness.
Groups of landlords and people who run properties are against the bill. They say that the 2019 law hasn’t had a chance to work because of the pandemic.
On the other hand, supporters of the bill say that people still have their rents go up by hundreds of dollars a month even though the law is in place.
The current law limits rent increases to 7% plus inflation. In 2023, this would be 14.6%, just below the maximum of 15%.
Data shows that “Greater Idaho” is an Idaho that is older and has more men. The current bill would change to 5% plus inflation, up to a maximum of 8%.
Developers who spoke on Monday said this would make people less likely to build homes, worsening Oregon’s housing shortage.
A proposed change would change the formula to 5% plus inflation, up to a maximum of 10%.
Patricia Sylvester says that she feels like she can’t get ahead even though she has three jobs and her rent is increasing by about $100 a month.
Before Oregon’s rent control law was enacted in 2019, Sylvester was homeless for 20 months because his rent kept increasing.
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The director of rental housing provider Multifamily Northwest, Deborah Imse, said, “it doesn’t make sense to go in and do things that further restrict developers from coming into this to this state when they can easily choose to develop in other places that don’t have these kinds of restrictions.”
Deborah Imse, who runs a company that rents out homes, said, “It doesn’t make sense to do things that make it harder for developers to come to this state when they can easily choose to build in other places that don’t have these kinds of rules.”
Advocates say that loopholes in the 2019 law have led to more than 10% rent increases, which have cost some families hundreds of dollars.
Stable Homes Oregon shared an interesting tweet on raising house rents, Which is given below-
Oregon law says rents can’t go up for buildings built in the last 15 years. Right now, the bill would limit that to three years, but developers have raised concerns, so changes are being considered to keep it at 15 years or submit it to 10 years for buildings built in that time.
Source- Oregon Live.
