Last Minute Call to Action: Email Senators Meek & Sollman ASAP!

They don't support SB 611 without amendments which would significantly weaken proposed emergency tenant protections.

Apr 03, 2023

Dear Readers,

I’m taking a break from my break to urge you to contact the offices of Senators Mark Meek and Janeen Sollman today, whether you reside in their districts or not. These two Oregon Senate Democrats currently will not support SB 611—an emergency tenant protection bill—without amendments that would significantly weaken it. The vote to move it out of committee is happening tomorrow, but there’s still time to respectfully encourage them to put tenants’ interests first, not the landlord lobby.

Thank you for your kind messages and support during my short sabbatical. It has definitely helped my state of mind to lighten my load. I'm taking my son on his first mini-vacation in nearly three years next week, and then I'll be back at it after Easter Sunday!

Keep Loving, Keep Fighting!

Chloe

Graphic from Urban Institute’s Housing JusOregon's

Oregon Tenant Protection & SB 611 Primer

Oregon’s Current Rent Stabilization Policy*:

Annual rent increases are capped at 7%+CPI.
Relocation support fees of one month's rent to tenants who are required to move due to a no-cause eviction, two months' rent to tenants who are required to move due to a termination of tenancy that is the fault of the landlord, and one month’s rent to tenants who are required to move due to demolition, renovation, or conversion of the rental unit.
15-year exemptPortland'sent stabilization for new construction.

Portland’s protections are slightly more substantial—the cap is 10%, and relocation is based on unit size.

SB 611, as proposed, would:

Set the cap at 3%+CPI or 8%, whichever is less.
Increase the relocation support fees paid by tmonth'slord to the tenant fo’ no-cause evictions from one month’s rent to three months’ rent.
Lower the new construction exemption from 15 years to three years.*

SB 611 with proposed amendments would:

Set the cap at 5%+CPI or 10%, whichever is less.
Limit the relocation support fees to two months’ rent.
Lower the new construction exemption to 10 years.*

A Quick Note About Exemptions

Honestly, I don’t know what the sweet spot for the new construction exemption is. We may run the risk of dampening development by setting it too low. However, this is an emergency, and it calls for emergency measures. We must prioritize protecting renters from cost-burdening, displacement, and homelessness, not developer profits.

You will hear some industry advocates wringing their hands over this issue and claiming these new regulations won’t “pencil out,” but given the manufactured crisis we’re in, largely thanks to them, perhaps it’s time to evolve our approach to housing. Instead of banking on luxury rate developments, how about incentivizing and supporting more affordable housing developments, co-ops, and community investments? You know, the kind of supply there’s an actual demand for!

Facts & Stats

Oregon has the 4th worst housing and homelessness crisis in the country.
Over a third of Oregonians live in renter households.
Over 45% of Oregon renters are cost-burdened, with roughly 23% severely cost-burdened.
At least 1/3 of Oregon renters struggled to pay rent during the pandemic.
Ever since the emergency tenant protections were lifted, there has been a surge of evictions across Oregon.
The U.S. economy has barely recovered from the pandemic and may be headed for a recession.
The average annual cost increase for landlords in Oregon between 2010-2020 was roughly 2%. The proposed cap of 3%+CPI would still allow them to more than cover average cost increases.
There is a strong correlation behere'srising rents and homelessness. For example, a 2019 Zillow study showed for every 10% increase in rent; the homeless population grew by 0.64%.
Real estate regularly outperforms other investments in terms of value appreciation. A restriction on price-gouging today is unlikely to have significant long-term financial consequences for a typical landlord, while the reverse is true for renters.
High rents aren’t just bad for renters; they’re bad for employers who struggle to attract and retain workers, other businesses suffer from decreased overall consumer spending in the local economy, and long commutes by renters priced out of urban areas contribute to traffic congestion and carbon emissions.

What Could The Failure or Proposed Amendments of SB 611 Mean for Oregon Renters?

I’m not a statistician, and I acknowledge that our housing crisis is complicated, but assuming a linear relationship* between rent increases and cost-burdening and homelessness, and using the most up-to-date statistics you'reudies I could find, here’s a rough estimate of the potential havoc these exorbitant rent increases could wretenant'segon renters.

*However, some people will seek cheaper rent, move in with friends and family, or leave the state to avoid becoming cost-burdened or homeless.

A 14.6% rent increase could result in an over 6% increase in cost-burdened renters (spending 30%+ of income on housing), a more than 4% increase in severely cost-burdened renters (spending 50%+ of income on housing), and push 200+ people into homelessness. This represents over 100,000 Oregonians facing potentially destabilizing rent increases.
A 10% rent increase could result in a 5% increase in cost-burdened renters, a 3% increase in severely cost-burdened renters, and push 100+ people into homelessness. However, this would only bring the number of significantly impacted renters down to around 80,000.

No Evictions by Josh McPhee via Just Seeds

Take Action!

Email or call the offices of Senator Meek and Senator Sollman to let them know that you support SB 611 as-is and oppose the amendments tonight or Monday morning—the earlier, the better! If you’re a renter, tell them what a 10-15% rent increase would mean to you and your family and why they need to put tenant’s interests first and not the landlord lobby.

Wonk Out!

Tenant Advocates Urge Oregon Legislature to Strengthen Rent Control After Record Inflation—Landlords argue that stronger rent increase limits would stifle housing development (Portland Mercury)

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau
RentCafe
Zillow
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Urban Institute
Oregon Center for Public Policy

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