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Proposed Oregon Rent Control Law

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Stephen1

Member
Question about proposed Oregon rent control law. Does it apply to (or how does it apply to) changes in rents between tenants? E.g. Johnny moves out. Then I line up a new tenant. Is there a limit on what I charge the next tenant?
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
You can read up and track the proposed law on the legislature's web site: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/Overview/SB608

As to whether the rent is capped for new tenants depends on why the old tenant left. If you terminated them without cause, then the rate for the new tenant is capped. If they moved out on their own, or you terminated them for cause, then you are not capped. Essentially, they won't let you just kick someone out so you can raise the rent.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Most rent control laws are unwise, and Oregon's proposed law (which passed the legislature and is waiting the governors decision on whether to sign or veto) is similarly misguided. It will be, if memory serves me correctly, the first state wide rent control law in the nation. That means it will apply in rural and other areas where generally affordable housing has never been a problem, thus regulating areas that really had no need of it. The general effect of Oregon's type of rent control ends up being a reduction in housing stock as landlords decide that their properties are put to better use than as rental units. That ends up not helping to increase the stock of affordable housing in high cost of living areas, but rather to decrease it. In short, it ends up being counter-productive. That doesn't seem to stop rent control advocates, though.
 

xylene

Senior Member
That ends up not helping to increase the stock of affordable housing in high cost of living areas, but rather to decrease it.
The goal of rent control is punish or limit the landlord class's rent seeking in situations where there is an upper limit to development already in place either structurally or legally or some combination thereof.

In the case of oregon, it limits the virtual monopoly power that arises from the upper limits of development that are already in place for zoning and ecological reasons that are already or soon will be bumped up against by much of Oregon.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
The goal of rent control is punish or limit the landlord class's rent seeking in situations where there is an upper limit to development already in place either structurally or legally or some combination thereof.

In the case of oregon, it limits the virtual monopoly power that arises from the upper limits of development that are already in place for zoning and ecological reasons that are already or soon will be bumped up against by much of Oregon.
Oregon is a large state. I once lived there. There were a lot of areas where development certainly had not reached any limits in terms of either available land or legal restrictions that would prevent more of it. I suspect it is still true today that many places have not hit that kind of limit (though less today, of course, than in the past). Those areas should not be subject to rent control. It's not needed for them. So the law is overly inclusive and burdens landlords that are not part of the problem being targeted. Rent control should be targeted at only those areas where the affordable housing problems really exist if you are going to do it at all. But even in those areas, rent control is going to drive some landlords to convert existing rental units to something else, lowering the available housing stock. And if, as you say, there isn't room for additional development to fill that gap, there ends up being a net loss of units available for renters. So some renters get the benefit of the cap on their rents at the cost of less units being available to those that need them. That's the trade off. IMO generally that's not a good trade-off and other approaches to affordable housing ought to be considered.
 

xylene

Senior Member
There were a lot of areas where development certainly had not reached any limits in terms of either available land or legal restrictions that would prevent more of it.
This isn't the electoral college - acres don't vote.

Rent control isn't about affordable housing. It is a punishment.

It is an opening shot against the ownership class, and there are going to be more.

Renters don't want good policy, they want a pound of flesh.

This is simply a political analysis.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Rent control isn't about affordable housing. It is a punishment.
So all the claims from rent control proponents that it is about affordable housing are all lies? The proponents are knowingly deceiving the public on that? That doesn't speak well of them at all, does it?

It is an opening shot against the ownership class, and there are going to be more.

Renters don't want good policy, they want a pound of flesh.
That is very revealing. They don't care if it is good policy. They don't care if it works. They don't care that they might actually be screwing themselves too by leaving a shortage of housing. They just care about that pound of flesh. And as long as they can "stick it to the man" they'll be happy even though they ended up leaving themselves no available places to rent? That's incredibly stupid, but then I have long known some voters are stupid. Perhaps there are more stupid voters than I thought.
 

Stephen1

Member
Thanks for the input, especially Flying Ron who clarified my question with a simple example. Now, comments on rent control, I tend to believe the problem is lack of available housing. If the problem was solely over-priced apts, then there would be people in tents and vacant apts.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
One of my sisters has lived in the Portland area for many years now and she told me long ago when they were looking at trying to buy a home that Land use regulations/ rules made it very expensive to build or buy a home there and then over the years she told me the economy there grew nicely creating demand for housing and along with that many areas of the city underwent gentrification and even property in crappy areas increased in value as well so she too thinks that in the long term rent control will hurt the market. Years ago chat friends I had made when I used AOL told me about NYC rent control laws and it sure seemed to help create a so called entitlement mentality and I remember one HS teacher admitting he knew the rent controls on his apartment were not fair to new tenants with them paying a lot more, and keeping LLS hands tied when tenants remained in apartments for decades such as my friend Dan and his parents , he grew up in the Bronx and as a adult later ended up settling in Mpls, his dad stayed with him the last few years he lived but Dans mom wouldn't give up that dirt cheap rent controlled apartment and remained there for many decades.
 

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