Page Al8
Çortlanh (Observer
May 18, 2011
Pressure Builds for Higher Rents
co n tin u ed
fr o m fr o n t
G reg Frick, who has w orked at
H FO N orthw est A partm ent Invest
m ents since 1993, said from an apart
ment standpoint, Portland has w eath
ered the housing crisis well. But with
the low rate o f rental vacancy through
out the city, people will have less
choices o f where they can live.
“C onsequently, there is going to
be m ore upward pressure on rent,”
said Frick.
A lthough rent could becom e in
creasingly expensive, he said what
Portland really needs is jo b grow th
and increased wages.
“ You c an ’t just all o f a sudden
rocket your rent prices when people
aren’t m aking m ore m oney,” he said.
“ If we d o n ’t get any w age inflation,
there is going to be a dam per on what
we can pay for rent.”
The post-recession return to rent
ing, m ixed with high unem ploym ent
rates, falling w ages, and low rental
vacancy rates, has catalyzed hous
ing stability to rem ain even m ore out
o f reach for low -incom e fam ilies
throughout Portland and the coun
try.
Ari R apkin, a co-director o f the
C om m unity A lliance o f Tenants lo
cated in Portland, explained the hous
ing crisis drew attention to the lack o f
affordable housing in the region be
cause there is now, m ore than ever, a
higher level o f com petition for the
few er places available.
“People with m oderate incom es
are being forced to m ake decisions
that low incom e families have been
forced to deal with for a long tim e,” he
said. “People are being forced to
choose betw een buying medicine,
groceries and rent, and that is not a
choice that anyone should have to
make.”
According to the National Low
Incom e H ousing Coalition, a unit is
considered affordable if it costs no
m ore than 30 percent o f the renter's
income.
The C om m unity Alliance o f T en
ants has a hotline for people with
housing questions, concerns and pre
dicam ents. ‘ ‘A lot o f our m em bers and
people we talk with on the hotline are
paying 50 to 60 percent o f their in
com e, o r even m ore, for rent,” said
Rapkin. “A nd that’s a very precari
ous situation.”
W hile a lot o f people can afford
rent on a day to day basis, this is
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Northeast Oregon Housing Authority is seeking sealed bids from
qualified firms to provide new Electric Ranges. Bid packets are
available by calling Dalelnslee, Dir. Of Asset Management, NEOHA
Telephone (541) 963-5360 ext. #30, TDD (541) 963-2465 no
later than the 26th of May, IFB closes the 2nd of June, 2011
[Minority- and/or women-owned businesses are encouraged to respond]
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presum ing nothing will go wrong, rental markets on the W est Coast for needs. Rapkin explained, “This means
but Rapkin recognizes that this is not m ajor markets, Byrd explained that it’s a lot easier for a landlord to say, ‘if
reality. “W e know that people get low incom e families are being forced you d o n ’t like it, then m ove.’”
sick and things go wrong, and that is now m ore than ever to look even
He added that in situations like
what m akes people hom eless,” he harder for apartm ents they can af these, he sees time and tim e again,
said.
ford.
tenants living in unsafe and unhealthy
A ccording to Janet Byrd, the ex
A lthough there are m ultiple av housing because they d o n ’t have
ecutive D irector o f N eighborhood enues for funding and subsidies to any other options.
Partnership, affordable housing is help families find affordable housing,
“People have to sacrifice a lot to
really the key to increase the quality Rapkin explained that there is a lot o f stay in housing,” Byrd said. “W hen
o f life for m any fam ilies w ithin the difficulty even to get on the w aiting food banks survey w hy individuals
need food baskets, the price o f hous
ing is som ething that continuously
com es up.”
" ...Affordable housing is really
the key to increase the quality
o f life fo r many families within
the city.
— Janet Byrd, Executive Directorof Neighborhood Partnership
city.
list, which often only opens up a
W ith the apartm ent m arket boom w eek out o f every other year.
ing, higher prices in the rental market
“The waiting list for affordable
co n tin u e to force O regonians to subsidized housing can be years
choose betw een paying rent, putting long,” he said. “So it’s not an im m e
food on the table, and paying utility diate solution to the housing situa
bills— and the num bers are projected tion.”
to only becom e higher.
Low vacancy rates also create in
W hi le Portland is historically con creased pressure on tenants to ac
sidered to have one o f the lowest cept housing that doesn’t m eet their
N eighborhood Partnership along
with H ousing A lliance m akes sure
m oney is invested to protect re
sources that build m ore affordable
housing, as well as m ake sure there is
preservation o f existing affordable
living opportunities.
A lthough residents will have to
wait to see how m uch rental prices
will truly rise, Rapkin explained there
is still hope for the future.
“A big part o f w hy we ’ re here as an
organization is that tenants can have
a voice, and we can im pact the deci
sions that affect us,” he said. “T hat is
w hy we are here, and that is w hy we
are w elcom ing tenants to get in
volved.”
African American Men Speak Out
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
c a lly h a v e no t b een e n g a g e d by
th e ir e le c te d o ffic ia ls ,” she said
a fte r th e m e etin g . “ I am g o in g to
let th em k n o w I w as se rio u s, and
th e re w ill be th in g s d o n e b e c a u se
o f th e ir c o u ra g e o u s c o n v e r s a
tio n s .”
E ven as the m eeting had to com e
to a c lo se , a lin e o f th o se w h o felt
c o m p elled to sh are th e ir situ atio n s
ran lo n g w ith in th e b o a rd ro o m .
A lth o u g h this w as the first m e e t
ing h eld fo r A frican A m erican m en
at a to w n h all e v e n t. S m ith e x
p la in e d th is w ill n o t b e th e
last.
“I heard them loud and clear,”
she said. “ W e can turn this thing
a ro u n d .”
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