MHCO Community Updates

2018 Oregon Legislative Session Begins - MHCO Legislative Update

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Today the Oregon Legislature convened for a 'short' legislative session - lasting 35 days until the first week in March.

 

Legislators have strict limits on the amount of bills they can introduce this year (2 in the House and 1 in the Senate), so we don't expect a lot of proposed hostile legislation. What this means though, is that the bills that are introduced have less competition for attention and have fewer hurdles to passage. 

 

For the first time in over five years the legislature has not submitted a rent control bill and the number of hostile landlord/rental property bills is minimal.  The war on landlords seems to have taken a pause.  The political reality is that the same political dynamics are in place that existed at the end of the full legislative session in July 2017.  Depending on the outcome of the primary elections in May 2018 and the general election in November 2018 we could and most likely will face a significant rent control fight in 2019 and a pile of anti landlord legislation. 

 

There are two bills that MHCO is watching during this short legislative session:

 

HB 4006:  Requires Housing and Community Services Department to annually provide to each city and county data showing percentage of individuals resident in city or county who are severely rent burdened. Requires city or county in which at least 25 percent of population is severely rent burdened to hold public meeting to discuss issue and submit plan to department to reduce rent burdens for severely rent burdened individuals in city or county.

 

Observation:  MHCO Opposes. The legislature has for a long time wanted better data on rent.  As many of you know MHCO has been collecting rent data on a voluntary basis from MHCO members for a number of years.  This data was very helpful in defeating rent control proposals in the 2017 Legislative Session.  We have attempted to broaden that database to include non-members with little success.  MHCO's concern has always been that the legislature will bend whatever data they collect to justify rent control.  As we have stated in testimony before the Oregon House Committee Housing in March 2017 - if the data shows there is little problem with rent and rent increases you (the Oregon Legislature) will say "see no problem if we do rent control because most properties are under the rent increase limits"; if the data shows there is a problem then the legislature will say "ha - this proves there is a problem".  MHCO opposes the state accumulating this information which will be used to justify whatever course of action the legislature chooses." The state collection of rent data adds yet another paperwork drill to an already over regulated industry.

 

HB 4085: Requires court to award attorney fees