House Bill (HB) 2377, Representative Brock Smith’s affordable housing bill, is still alive in the legislative process. The bill passed out of the House Human Services and Housing Committee on April 25 with a referral to the House Revenue Committee. A public hearing was held in that committee on May 23 with AOC, the Oregon League of Cities (LOC), and the Oregon Home Builders Association (OHBA) speaking in favor of the bill. The possibility of additional amendments was discussed by the committee. The bill has not yet been scheduled for further action.

HB 2004, Speaker Kotek’s priority housing bill, passed out of the Senate Human Services Committee on May 31, with -9 amendments. The version passed out of the committee removes the ability for local governments to enact rent stabilization policies. Other changes in the latest version of the bill include:

  • Changing the period during which a landlord may issue a no-cause termination on a month-to-month tenancy from the first year of tenancy to the first nine months
  • Prohibiting a landlord from terminating a tenancy within 60 days of a request for repairs necessary to correct code violations or an uninhabitable condition
  • Requiring fixed-term leases to be for a minimum of six-month unless requested otherwise by the tenant
  • Requiring the landlord to provide 90 days notice to a tenant that their fixed-term lease will expire or offering the opportunity to renew the lease; tenants notify the landlord of their intent to renew 45 days prior to the expiration date of the existing lease; if landlords fail to provide 90 days notice, the lease automatically defaults to month-to-month after the expiration date of the existing lease
  • Increasing from 30 days to 90 days the notice period required for landlords to terminate a month-to-month tenancy under certain circumstances including: a need to repair or remodel the unit, the need for the owner or a relative to occupy the unit, an intent to sell the unit, etc
  • Allowing only one rent increase per 12 months for week-to-week or month-to-month tenancies

Contributed by: Stacy Michaelson | AOC Health & Human Services Policy Manager