Oregon Governor Kate Brown has signaled her support for a rent stabilization bill that would limit Oregon landlords to rent increases of 7 percent per year and eliminate no-cause evictions of long-term tenants, according to reports.
Brown believes those ideas “are innovative and will give renters some peace of mind,” spokeswoman Kate Kondayen told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“We need to help Oregonians who have homes but are struggling with the high cost of rent,” Governor Kate Brown said in her inaugural address. “When problems arise, they need technical assistance to stay in their homes and not end up on the streets. We can help landlords and tenants navigate this tight housing market.
“Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) and Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland) have innovative proposals that will give renters some peace of mind. Oregon families are counting on us. They are counting on us so they don’t have to make a choice between paying the rent and staying home with their newborn,” the governor said.
A state-wide rent stabilization policy another word for rent control
Under the proposed legislation landlords of properties across the state could only raise rent by up to 7 percent per year, plus the annual change in the consumer price index.
That would amount to a statewide rent stabilization policy that officials say would be unique in the United States, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
Legislative action expected on rent stabilization or rent control in this term
Overall, the legislation this session in Oregon is expected to build on concepts from two years ago, including limits on no-cause evictions.
Rent control is a term of art. Oregon Democrats are quick to distance themselves from old-school policies that place a hard cap on rents,” Willamette Week reports. They prefer instead the term “rent stabilization,” which technically would limit the amount by which landlords could increase rent.
Tenant protections, particularly limits on rent increases, have proved politically impossible elsewhere.
The real estate industry soundly defeated a rent-control ballot initiative in California in November.
