How Does an Oregon Landlord Issue No-Cause Terminations for Repairs and Renovations Under SB 608?

Attorney Brad Kraus discusses the landlord's ability to issue no-cause terminations for qualifying repairs and renovations under SB 608.

HFO Marketing Director Named Chair of New Local Nonprofit Working to Build Trust Between Community, Police

 

The board of the new nonprofit Face to Face Portland has elected HFO Marketing Director Aaron Kirk Douglas as its chair. Face to Face is actively working to build trust between Portland police and the community. Its most vital program matches new officers to local volunteer families who support the integration of officers into the fabric of Portland. Visit www.facetofacepdx.org to learn more or to get involved.

Douglas has been marketing director for HFO Investment Real Estate since 2006. In his 14 years at HFO, Douglas has directed the launch of educational events, a video channel, a blog, and weekly podcasts covering news of interest to Oregon and Washington apartment investors. 

Douglas has served on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Hollywood Theatre, among others. He is the author of Growing Up Twice: Shaping a Future by Reliving My Past, recounting his life-changing experience as a Big Brother mentor.

HFO has consistently been recognized as one of the most philanthropic companies in Portland and congratulates Aaron on his achievement.

An Update on Portland, Oregon's Economy and 2020 Forecast with State of Oregon Analyst Christian Kaylor

Portland, Oregon's robust 2019 economy and the forecast for 2020 is discussed in this video with local expert Christian Kaylor of the Oregon Employment Department. Since 2005, Portland's median household income has grown by 34%. Portland's median household income is now the eighth highest in the country with a median household income of $73,100.

Houston, We Have A Solution: How Houston is Curbing Homelessness

Last week, The Christian Science Monitor reported on how Houston, TX has been successful at curbing homelessness.

"Numerous studies have backed the effectiveness of a housing-first approach since cities began adopting it in the 1990s. One 2015 study found that over a 24-month period, people who participated in housing-first programs in four Canadian cities had stable housing 63% to 77% of the time, compared with 24% to 32% for people who received more traditional care.

"There is also a cost argument for housing first. Chronic homelessness costs the public $30,000 to $50,000 per person per year, compared with $20,000 per person for supportive housing, according to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness."

Read the full story in The Christian Science Monitor.

Multifamily Marketwatch Podcast - November 25, 2019

Portland government pays $350 thousand in attorneys fees to unreinforced masonry owners for their successful legal challenge against the city; a professor argues that residential infill will only succeed if homeowners are good at being landlords and the Seattle Times reports that despite much fanfare in 2017, Seattle's BLOCK project has built only 9 backyard ADUs for homeless residents.

Listen to our latest podcast.

Prof. Ethan Seltzer: City Should Do More to Support New Landlords

Ethan Seltzer, Emeritus Professor in  the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at PSU, wrote guest commentary in the City Observatory blog this week calling on the City of Portland to do more to support the new, small landlords who will be necessary once the Residential Infill Project is implemented. RIP is expected to increase the number of lots with multiple units substantially over the next few years, and many of these new units will be rentals. But Portland and the State of Oregon have implemented policies recently that make it more difficult for landlords to operate. Seltzer argues that while larger landlords may be able to hire lawyers or raise rents to cover costs, smaller landlords who own fewer than 4 units may avoid the risk by renting their units through AirBnB, or solely to friends and family. He suggests the city could negotiate supportive lease agreements for smaller landlords, or create neighborhood groups that could act as management associations. Read more.



For more information on the multifamily market and PSU's Real Estate Program, be sure to watch Greg Frick's interview with Dr. Gerard Mildner. You can find this interview and more on our website, or on Youtube.

Multifamily Marketwatch Podcast - November 18, 2019

This week: after declining 80% in the recession, homebuilding finally rebounds; the cities of Lake Oswego and West Linn try to find ways around a new state law requiring multiple housing units, and the Washington State Supreme Court upholds one of Seattle’s latest housing laws.

Listen to our latest podcast.

Portland-Area Rents Mostly Flat Month-over-Month, but Milwaukie Is Still Seeing Strong Growth

According to RentCafe's October rent report, Portland area rents were mostly flat month-over-month, though they still outpaced nationwide averages. The national average was up 0.1% in October, reaching $1,476 per month. In the City of Portland, rents were up 0.5%. Milwaukie's rent growth between September and October far outpaced the rest of the metro area, with an increase of 1.2%. Gresham and Tigard saw rents go up 0.6%. Outside of the Portland metro area, Springfield and Bend saw rent increases of 0.9%, while Albany rents increased by 0.7%. Read more.

Washington Supreme Court Upholds Seattle's First-Come, First Served Law

The Washington Supreme Court published an opinion today overturning a lower court's decision to strike down a Seattle law that requires landlords to process tenant applications on a first-come, first-served basis. The landlords who brought the case said the law amounted to a regulatory taking of private property, because choosing a tenant is a "fundamental attribute of property ownership." Justice May Yu wrote in the Supreme Court decision that while the law was an experiment, it is allowed under the state's constitution. The FAIR law recently passed by the Portland City Council contains a similar requirement that landlords process applications on a first-come, first-served basis. Read more.

Portland City Council Votes Unanimously to Expand Deconstruction Rules

The Portland City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to require deconstruction rather than demolition for homes that were built in 1940 or earlier. Historically designated homes are also subject to the new rule, regardless of vintage. Since 2016, a similar rule has been in effect for buildings built in 1916 or earlier. Read more.

Seattle Adopts New Tenant Protections

Seattle recently passed legislation requiring changes to the notices served to tenants. The changes took effect on November 3, 2019, for all properties inside the city limits.

Read more here.

City Council Finishes Public Hearing on Better Housing by Design; Written Testimony Accepted Through Nov. 21st

A Notice from the City of Portland:

Better Housing by Design E-UPDATE: November 8, 2019

City Council finishes public hearing on Better Housing by Design proposals – will consider amendments on November 21

City Council finished hearing public testimony on the Better Housing by Design Recommended Draft on Wednesday, November 6, 2019. The public hearing started at 2 p.m. and lasted until 5 p.m. 42 people provided testimony during the three-hour hearing. Much of the testimony was on draft amendments requested by City commissioners. A lot of testimony was about whether or not to limit development bonuses for affordable housing based on transit access. There was also a lot of testimony regarding parking exemptions for affordable housing, and a broad range of perspectives were shared on proposals related to historic preservation.

If you missed this hearing, you can view a video of the hearing here. In total, community members have contributed over 250 pieces of written or verbal testimony on the Better Housing by Design proposals.

Written testimony will continue to be accepted through November 21, 2019. You can provide testimony on the broader Recommended Draft proposals, as well as on the draft amendments. Please see below for information on how to submit testimony.

Next Up – Amendments

City Council will discuss and vote on potential amendments to the Recommended Draft on November 21, 2019, starting at 3:45 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. The amendments they will consider include those previously requested by commissioners (see below), as well as any new amendment requests that may emerge from commissioners’ consideration of recent public testimony. Any revisions to the list of draft amendments will be posted online prior to the November 21 session. The public is welcome to attend the November 21 City Council session on the amendments, although this will not be a public hearing.

Learn about the draft amendments

• A table summarizing the draft amendments requested by commissioners (as of November 5) can be found here.
• The full amendments package with complete code language and commentary is here.
• Updates to the list of potential BHD amendments will be posted here:  https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/80031 

These potential BHD amendments include:

• Amendments to the Deeper Housing Affordability Bonus to provide options for affordable ownership housing.
• Expanded exemptions from minimum parking requirements for projects providing affordable housing.
• Limitations on using development bonuses on sites where historic buildings have been demolished in the multi-dwelling and mixed-use zones.
• Prohibitions on using development bonuses on sites more than a 1,500-foot walking distance of frequent-service transit.
• Disallowing 100-foot building height in the RM4 zone in historic districts.
• Requirements for large sites to include indoor common areas, such as community or recreation rooms.
• Zone changes in the King’s Hill Historic District to reduce allowed building scale.

How to Testify

Written testimony will continue to be accepted through November 21, 2019 (you must include your name and address):

Use the Map App:
www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/mapapp
Select Better Housing by Design and click on the "Testify" button. Testifying in the Map App is as easy as sending an email. And once you press “submit,” you can see your testimony in the Testimony Reader in real time. You can also read other people’s testimony.

By U.S. Mail:
City Council
Better Housing by Design Testimony
1221 SW Fourth Avenue, Room 130
Portland, Oregon 97204

Links to Recommended Draft documents:
Recommended Draft Summary - Short summary of the Recommended Draft’s major proposals
Volume 1: Staff Report - Summary and analysis of Recommended Draft Zoning Code and Map amendments
Volume 2: Zoning Code Amendments – Recommended Draft Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan full text and commentary
Volume 3: Additional Zoning Code Amendments – Zoning Code amendments updating other chapters for consistency

Maps
Citywide maps showing the Recommended Draft Zoning Map and Comprehensive Plan Map can be viewed here:
Map of Recommended Draft Zoning
Map of Recommended Draft Comprehensive Plan Designations 

Learn about how the Recommended Draft multi-dwelling zoning changes will affect specific properties by using the online Map App: www.Portlandmaps.com/bps/mapapp
Select Better Housing by Design and enter an address to learn about the proposed zoning for a property.

You can find all the Recommended Draft material online at: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/79578 
Draft BHD amendments material:  https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/80031 

For more information 

• Project website: www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/betterhousing
• Email: betterhousing@portlandoregon.gov
• Bill Cunningham, Project Manager, 503-823-4203

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is committed to providing meaningful access. For accommodations, modifications, translation, interpretation or other services, please call 503-823-7700 or use City TTY 503-823-6868, or Oregon Relay Service 711. 503-823-7700.

Portland Housing Bureau Sets Public Hearing for Thursday 11/7 on Rental Screening/Deposit Administrative Rules

The following information was received today from
the Portland Housing Bureau for rules slated to take effect March 1, 2020.

The Portland Housing Bureau is releasing two sets of Administrative Rules:

• Rental Housing Application and Screening Process establishes rules for PCC 30.01.086
• Rental Housing Security Deposit Process establishes rules for PCC 30.01.087

These two sets of rules provide additional clarity to the public on the implementation of the FAIR ordinances and create forms and notices required by the ordinances. The public is invited to testify on both proposed drafts. Drafts of the proposed changes, as well as notices and meeting information, can be found at www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/FAIRrules.

Paper copies are available at the Portland Housing Bureau at 421 SW 6th Ave, Suite 500.
Submitting Testimony

You can submit testimony or feedback on the drafts. Testimony may be submitted via email, fax, letter, or in person at a public hearing. Written comments or testimony must be received by December 4, 2019 and must include a first and last name to be considered. 

• Email your testimony to RentalServices@portlandoregon.gov
• Fax your testimony to 503-823-2387 
• Mail your testimony to PHB c/o FAIR Rules 421 SW 6th Avenue Suite 500 Portland, OR 97204
• Testify in person at the public hearing: Thursday, November 7, 2019, from 3-5 pm at the Portland Housing Bureau - 421 SW 6th Avenue, #500, Portland, OR 97204

To request translation services at the hearing, email Andres.Oswill@portlandoregon.gov at least three business days prior to the hearing. If you have questions regarding the proposed rule changes or the rulemaking process, please contact the FAIR Rules Coordinator: Andrés Oswill at Andres.Oswill@portlandoregon.gov.

Multifamily Marketwatch Podcast - November 4, 2019

This week: the Federal Reserve and interest rates; Oregon and Washington politicians promise to work together on the Interstate Bridge project and a new government report on climate change and real estate.

Listen to our latest podcast.