Multifamily NW is providing the following legislative recap on bills related to rental housing as of the week ending May 7 2021. You can show your support for Oregon's largest rental housing association by joining today at www.multifamilynw.org.
Multifamily NW invites you to get involved as an advocate and voice to support efforts to remove barriers to the housing supply. Multifamily NW seeks to look toward the future for Oregon’s housing by streamlining regulation and incentivizing investment into the development of housing. Join the effort today by following this link and engaging your legislators with the help of the Multifamily NW Government Affairs Team
May 7 2021 Update
The end of the 2021 Legislative session looms with 52 days left until the constitutionally mandated end of the session on June 27th. Friday, May 14th is the Second Chamber deadline for most bills to have been posted on a committee agenda for a work session. Policy committees, like the Senate and House housing committees, will be frantic scheduling hearings to meet the deadline next week. However, the deadline does not apply to Rule, Revenue, or Joint Committees.
Priority bills with recent hearings
SB 282A makes several tweaks to landlord/tenant statutes and more notably is set to extend the grace period for rent arrearages from HB 4401, previously passed December 2020. It was passed out of the House Committee on Housing May 6th and now heads to the House Chamber for a floor vote. The bill has already passed the Senate. Multifamily NW is neutral on this bill.
After passing the House with bipartisan support, HB 2761A which seeks to mandate manufactured housing parks to offer lease documents in five languages had a Public Hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing and Development on April 29th. Although this bill does not apply to standard apartment rentals, Multifamily NW strongly opposes this bill with the heavy burdens and pitfalls of translation mandates.
SB 291A seeks to limit housing providers' ability to screen applicants. Multifamily NW opposes this bill as the State of Oregon ought to maintain alignment with federal guidance from HUD. Although individualized assessments play an important role in the resident’s screening process, SB 291A creates confusion and impractical workflow for landlords in their due diligence to provide housing. The Public Hearing began on Thursday in the House Committee on Housing and will continue next Thursday, May 13th. This bill already passed the Senate and must have a Work Session posted by Friday, May 14th to continue.
SB 330A remains punted to the Joint Committee on Tax Expenditures after several hearings and amendments passed by the Senate Committee on Housing and Development, severely limiting its ability to address compensation strategies for housing providers with rent arrearages from the Eviction Moratorium. Multifamily NW supports amendments to reinstate the original language of SB 330.
SB 852 would disallow personal income tax mortgage interest deduction for residence other than the taxpayer’s principal residence. This bill was passed out of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development and was referred to the Senate Finance and Revenue committee by prior reference. A Public Hearing was scheduled and then canceled on May 3rd. Multifamily NW opposes this bill.
Priority bills defeated (so far)
- SB 838 would have created a real property ownership registry across the State of Oregon.
- HB 2427 would have directed OHCS to establish and maintain a uniform rental application across the State of Oregon.
- HB 3263 would have required owners of multifamily rental housing to offer a right of first refusal to tenants.
- HB 2677 would have repealed Oregon’s prohibition on local rent control.
- HB 2372 would have eliminated a housing provider’s ability to terminate any residential tenancy without a stated cause.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday, May 11th at 1:00pm
HB 2736A has a Public Hearing scheduled in the Senate Committee on Housing and Development on May 11th at 1:00pm. This bill seeks to have a BOLI-created fair housing disclosure be required at the signing of a new rental agreement. Amendments passed on the House side removed landlord penalty for noncompliance and required buildings with 11 or more units to post a copy of the disclosure in the common area. There is another dash amendment for consideration next week that would remove the disclosure signed at move-in and keep the posting in the common area for 11+ unit buildings. Multifamily NW is neutral on this bill.
Thursday, May 13th at 8:00am
SB 291A requires landlords to adopt certain written screening criteria, limiting ability for housing providers to screen potential residents. A Public Hearing continues on May 13th in the House Committee on Housing. Multifamily NW opposes the bill.
Multifamily NW has been watching hundreds of Oregon bills that have the potential to affect the rental housing industry. We have included a shorter list of approximately 50 bills that we are closely tracking and that most members will want to have on their radar too.
The next Chamber Deadline is Friday, May 14th
The 3rd "mile marker" of the Legislative Session, is Friday, May 14th - that's the date a Work Session must be posted on a committee agenda for a 2nd Chamber bill to "stay alive.
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