As you may already know, Commissioner Eudaly has proposed a series of measures, known as the Portland Screening and Security Deposit Ordinances, to revoke housing provider and tenant protections both in federal law and at the state level in Oregon. While Portland Area Rental Owners Association (PAROA) & NW Real Estate Investors Association (NWREIA) have worked to counter these damaging ordinances, Commissioner Eudaly has chosen not to listen to our concerns and continues to attempt to push them through.
     PAROA & NWREIA’s goal is to work in tandem with the city to ensure that rental units are accessible, affordable, and equitable to all. Unfortunately, Commissioner Eudaly’s proposals will only increase the problem of tenants who cannot afford monthly rent, rather than resolving it.
All Council members contact information is at the end of this article.
     Although there has been no extensive review of the impact these measures will have, the following can be expected:
· Due to the high cost of legal fees, housing providers may have to turn away tenants with criminal records.
· Tenants who struggle to pay the rent will in turn make more use of welfare programs, while also incurring debt and potentially being evicted in higher numbers as compared to individuals less impacted by Commissioner Eudaly’s measures, such as homeowners.
· With the removal of identification requirements for tenants, human trafficking and drug use will increase.
· Right now, consumer protections help to prevent tenants from signing contracts beyond their financial meals. However, with the enactment of these measures, and the removal of those safeguards, it’s likely many more tenants will be evicted as a result of being unable to pay the rent.
     Given that the city council has, as yet, not conducted its due diligence in researching these proposals, it is therefore not aware that the ordinances will worsen Oregon’s homeless problem. It is incumbent upon PAROA & NWREIA members to alert the city council to these key facts before these measures are voted on at the city council meeting on Wednesday, June 12th.
     As such, we’re requesting that you contact the city council before Wednesday, 10:35 a.m., to educate them as to the impact Commissioner Eudaly’s ordinance will have on Portland’s rental market. In your communication, whether email or voicemail, please give your name and reference docket items 558 and 559.
     When you contact the council, please make note of these key facts:
· These measures endanger the welfare of tenants and severely impact small landlords, who will then be forced to vacate the market.
· When those landlords leave the market, affordable single-family rentals will become much more difficult to find as such properties are then sold to People that intend to live in the home.
· There are already Fair Housing Laws which provide cost-control prot
ections.
     Thank you for doing your part to ensure that city commissioners understand why these ordinances are more harmful than helpful to the people they will primarily impact and should therefore be voted down.
Mayor Ted Wheeler: 503-823-4120 [email protected]Â
Commissioner Nick Fish: 503-823-3589 [email protected]
Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty: 503-823-4151 [email protected]
Commissioner Amanda Fritz: 503-823-3008 [email protected]
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly: 503-823-4682 [email protected]
Sincerely,
Christian Bryant
