Oregon housing crisis: Renter bill shrinks again amid pressure from landlord advocates

SALEM -- An evolving compromise on housing policy and renter protections in the Oregon Legislature has been pared back again after a special meeting between House Speaker Tina Kotek and several industry lobbyists.

As The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported was likely, House Democrats have agreed to wait until 2017 before trying to extend notice periods for no-cause lease terminations.

When House Bill 4143 left the House's human services and housing committee with bipartisan support Wednesday, it had called for 90-day notices after a tenant's first year.

That will be stripped away before another committee hearing next week, leaving just two provisions: a ban on rent increases in the first year of a month-to-month tenancy and 90-day notices for rent increases after the first year.

The change followed a high-level meeting Wednesday afternoon. It means any renter protections approved in Salem this year will likely be weaker than rules passed by Portland City Council last fall. Portland already requires 90 day notices for no-cause evictions.

"The short session has required us to prioritize. So we went with the two most important things," Kotek said in an interview Friday, saying she's telling lawmakers, "you're coming back in 2017 and we're going to talk about no-cause notices and evictions. We need to level the playing field for tenants."

All three tenant provisions had clear support in the House. The shift -- joining further revisions to a proposal for affordable housing mandates that also cleared a committee Wednesday -- was designed to win support among skeptical senators.

The more conservative Senate has long loomed as a check on housing reforms. Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, said repeatedly before this month's short session that she thought the House was trying to do too much.

Earlier, House Democrats agreed to excise a proposal requiring landlords to pay relocation costs for tenants given no-cause notices. They cut out a legal tweak that presumes retaliation if a landlord issues a no-cause notice within six months after a tenant requests repairs.

"I am very, very sad and frustrated that the minor tenant protections we have in HB 4143 will be pared back even further," Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland, wrote in a post early Saturday on a Facebook forum dedicated to housing issues.

She also said "the Senate wouldn't agree to pass it unless the House pared back the three tenant protections down to two."

Jim Straub, the Oregon Rental Housing Alliance's legislative director, sent an email to members Thursday detailing the lobbying group's reasons for striking a deal.

"So why did we compromise? We did not have the votes to stop this bill on the House side of the legislature," Straub wrote. "On the Senate side, we were tied 15-15. We could block the bill, but one person changing their position and we would lose.

"When you have the Speaker who can hold up bills in the House from the Senate side, she has tremendous power. We felt her ability to change one Senator's mind was too risky for us. The cost-benefit ratio in this scenario was too high for Oregon landlords."

The meeting with industry lobbyists also produced new amendments for Senate Bill 1533, which would overturn a state ban that keeps local governments from requiring that some new housing units be set aside for residents earning below the median income.

That policy, allowed in every other state besides Texas, is known as mandatory inclusionary zoning.

But amid pressure from developers, who led the push for the state's ban in 1999, lawmakers are expected to make clear that the construction of workforce housing -- targeting people who make up to 80 percent of the median income -- would satisfy any housing mandates. Affordable housing traditionally is aimed at people making less than 60 percent of median income.

Median income: See where your family stacks up in Portland.

That shift has some advocates concerned that lifting the state on ban on mandates will be a hollow victory. They worry builders will concentrate entirely on workforce housing, with little help for people who earn less and might be in crisis.

Kotek argued the change will increase the supply of affordable units overall. She notes that some cities, such as Portland, already have incentive programs that subsidize units for lower-income residents. The changes would also require property tax exemptions or abatements.

"This is perhaps more of a workforce housing program," she said. "We see it as complementary to any voluntary programs that are local."

The changes may preserve other elements in SB 1533.

The bill would let cities reserve up to 20 percent of new multifamily developments. That would apply in projects with at least 20 units in Portland, and 10 units statewide. In exchange, builders would receive sweeteners such as density and height bonuses. They would also have the right to forgo adding affordable units if they contribute to projects off-site.

Other proposed amendments for SB 1533 would flesh out details around excise taxes on commercial and residential construction. Money would be used to subsidize affordable housing and also provide revenue for a state-funded down payment assistance program.

"We're moving forward," said Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, the bill's sponsor. "But we still have work to do."

The developing agreement includes House Bill 4079, from Rep. Duane Stark, R-Grants Pass, which allows experimental expansions of regional growth boundaries for affordable housing. A fourth bill, Senate Bill 1573, would let cities annex land without a vote so long as everyone in the affected area is on board.

Both are being reworked.

Kotek said all four bills will be tied together. If one dies, she said, they all die.

"If we're going to make progress this session," Kotek said, "They'll all have to pass. I've been very clear with people."

-- Denis C. Theriault

503-221-8434; @TheriaultPDX

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