March 6, 2019
Page 5
Rent Control Law Signed by Governor
C ontinueD from p age 2
who control the Legislature say
the state’s housing crisis justified
passing the bill as an emergency
measure.
In hearings for the bill passed,
tenants testified that they have
struggled to keep up with sky-
rocketing rents, with many said
they’ve been forced from their
homes.
Kori Sparks, a resident of the
fast-growing city of Bend, said
she relies on disability and has “to
deal with the stress of losing an
accessible home on short notice.”
She said rent control will pro-
tect vulnerable people from “a
predatory system where profit
comes before people and denies
them of a basic human right.”
Builders in Oregon have not
been able to construct enough
houses and apartments to meet
the demands of the thousands of
people moving to the state for jobs
and in some cases, for a lower cost
of living. Many people move to
the state from California.
A state report estimated that a
renter would need to work 77 hours
a week at minimum wage to afford
a 2-bedroom apartment. One in
three renters in Oregon pay more
than 50 percent of their income on
rent, far higher than the Congres-
sional-set definition of housing af-
fordability, which suggests setting
aside 30 percent toward rent.
In the Portland metropolitan
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown holds a ceremony Thursday to sign a rent control law at the State Capitol in Salem. The bill ismeant to address
a housing crisis that has touched every corner of the state. (AP photo)
area, the average rental unit costs
about $1,400 a month, according
to data released by the city. Ore-
gon is also suffering from a lack of
affordable housing and has one of
the highest rates of homelessness
in the country.
Landlords and developers ar-
gued that rent control would make
the housing crisis worse, saying
investors will now be less willing
to build or maintain properties.
“History has shown that rent
control exacerbates shortages,
makes it harder for apartment
owners to make upgrades and
disproportionately benefits high-
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er-income households,” said
Doug Bibby, president of the
National Multifamily Housing
Council, a national association
representing apartment building
owners.
The governor acknowledged
that rent control alone isn’t
enough, and that the state needs
an “all hands on deck” solution.
Brown has proposed a $400 mil-
lion investment in affordable
housing solutions in her two-year
budget proposal.
“It will take much more to
ensure that every Oregonian, in
communities large and small, has
access to housing choices that
allow them and their families to
thrive,” she said.
--Associated Press