Governor Signs Revised Oregon Rent Control Law

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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has signed a revised rent control law, SB 611, which caps rents and prohibits landlords from charging a rent increase annually of more than 10 percent regardless of inflation.

The new Oregon rent control aw makes key changes to how the maximum-allowable annual rent increase percentage is calculated for residential tenancies.

The bill was passed in the recent legislative session. It was designed to fix the current rent control law that limited rent hikes to seven percent plus inflation. But when the Consumer Price Index showed high inflation, some recent cases resulted in 14 percent rent increases.

SB 611 states that the maximum allowable annual rent increase percentage is calculated as the lesser of:

1. Ten percent; or
2. Seven percent plus the September annual 12-month average change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban customers, according to the Portland Housing Bureau Rental Services Office.

SB 611 also clarifies that during any tenancy, other than week-to-week, the landlord may not increase the rent more than once during any 12-month period.

SB 611 takes effect immediately, applying to all notices of rent increase delivered on or after July 7, 2023.

Oregon was the first state in the nation to pass a statewide Oregon rent control law.

While rent control appears to help housing providers in the short run, in the long run it affects their investment and development plans, according to new research by the National Apartment Association (NAA).

“While the notion of rent-control policies may appear as an appealing solution to housing affordability, it is critical to acknowledge their potentially counterproductive and damaging consequences. Rent control has been proven to negatively impact renters, housing providers and even entire communities.

“This research shows that rent control policies can inadvertently lead to reduced housing supply, lower property values and decreased quality of available properties. Additionally, rent control disincentives new construction, which could exacerbate the housing affordability crisis,” the NAA research said.

Source: Rental Housing Journal