Senate Bill 608 – Some Lasting Effects of Rent Control

What is Senate Bill 608?

The new Ore­gon rent con­trol law will like­ly have a mul­ti­tude of effects.  The main like­ly effects will be to pro­tect vul­ner­a­ble ten­ants, reduce the prof­itabil­i­ty for cer­tain rental units, and increase lit­i­ga­tion sur­round­ing evic­tions.  The leg­is­la­ture, in find­ing that quick increas­es in the rental mar­ket were caus­ing addi­tion­al issues in the hous­ing mar­ket, decid­ed to put a cap on increas­es in rent with­in a 12 month peri­od.  The allowed increase is 7% over an infla­tion num­ber gen­er­at­ed for prod­ucts on the West Coast in the fall on a year­ly basis.

What does Senate Bill 608 Mean for Portland Tenants?

In order to keep land­lords from being able to sim­ply evict a ten­ant and raise the rent on a new ten­ant, the leg­is­la­ture end­ed the abil­i­ty for land­lords to ter­mi­nate ten­an­cies for no rea­son or cause.

What does Senate Bill 608 Mean for Portland Landlords?

While this pro­tects ten­ants and the val­ue of their lease­holds, it also means that land­lords who have prob­lem ten­ants – ten­ants who can­not get along with oth­er ten­ants, cause con­tin­u­ing minor dis­tur­bances, etc. – can­not just no-cause evict them.  Land­lords will have to either make a deal with such ten­ants to leave or be pre­pared to show that there has been a mate­r­i­al vio­la­tion of the rental agree­ment or oth­er ten­ant duties.  Also, cer­tain prop­er­ties will have big­ger issues with get­ting brought into com­pli­ance with hab­it­abil­i­ty standards.

For any land­lord who has a derelict prop­er­ty and has been get­ting by on accept­ing low rents, there is a real risk of being on the hook to make repairs that cost more than any rental income while also being unable to end the ten­an­cies for the derelict building.

How Can The Bridge Law Firm Help with Senate Bill 608 Issues?

If you are a Port­land, Ore­gon Land­lord or Ten­ant affect­ed by Sen­ate Bill 608, The Bridge Law Firm can help you assess your sit­u­a­tion and advise you on your best options.

If you are a Portland, Oregon Landlord or Tenant affected by Senate Bill 608

Con­tact us to help you assess your options.