Multifamily NW has issued a call for immediate action for Oregon Rental Owners.
At 10:00 am on Monday, November 23rd, the House Interim Committee on Housing has an informational hearing to review Speaker Kotek’s housing assistance proposal, which aims to extend the eviction moratorium and change several aspects of Oregon Landlord-Tenant law. This proposal was drawn up by a small group of individuals and advocates, with limited housing providers' input. No public testimony will be accepted at this meeting, which is why we need your voices to be heard by emailing your legislators and leaders of the House Interim Committee on Housing. We are urgently asking you to send an email to your legislators [click here to find yours] as well as Chair Fahey, Vice-Chairs Rep. Meek, and Rep. Zika no later than Monday, November 23rd, at 8 am. |
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Dear Legislators, On Monday, November 23rd, the House Interim Committee on Housing has an informational hearing to review Speaker Kotek’s housing assistance proposal. The proposal contains many components that will be harmful to the housing industry and fails to guarantee adequate rental assistance. Please consider the following points: - Without adequate emergency rental assistance, this proposal simply pushes the problem out another six months and deepens the tenants and housing providers' financial stress.
- The proposal provides that a tenant can decline to pay rent until July 1, 2021, by merely signing an “attestation” of hardship. The proposal continues to permit deferral of rent for virtually any reason, even if it is not causally related to the COVID-19 Pandemic or the Governor’s executive orders. There is no due process or legal mechanism to evaluate the validity of attestations.
- The proposal re-writes other sections of the landlord/tenant law unrelated to the pandemic. Any proposal to resolve the moratorium should focus on pandemic specific issues, not unrelated agenda items.
- The proposal includes wildfire-related issues which are being addressed by FEMA. Those displaced by wildfire should receive support but should not be addressed in this proposal.
- Oregon anticipated the need to utilize private property under a state of emergency when it passed ORS 401.192 (3). That law would include protections and reasonable compensation if the real or personal property was utilized for the State's emergency actions. HB 4213 and this proposal sidestep existing law, putting the moratorium's burden on housing providers.
We encourage you to direct funding towards the emergency rental assistance system and target those households at risk of eviction. Thank you, [YOUR NAME] |
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