SB 608: Protecting Renters
On February 28, 2019, Governor Brown signed SB 608 into law, and it became effective immediately. This victory comes after several years of hard work by people who rent their home, advocates, and allies. Over the course of several years, elected leaders have heard from people who rent their homes who live across our state. They have heard from nurses, teachers, landlords, faith leaders, doctors, business owners, realtors, and more, who share the view that no cause evictions and extreme rent increases are harming our communities.
Senate Bill 608 provides basic protections against no cause evictions and extreme rent increases. SB 608:
Provides protection from no cause evictions for tenants after the first year of occupancy; and
Provides statewide protection from economic evictions by limiting rent increases to no more than seven percent plus the consumer price index percentage. It exempts regulated affordable housing (which is already protected by limits on rent increases), and new construction for the first fifteen years.
We have more information:
If you rent your home, or work with people who rent their homes and are curious about how this bill will provide protection, please download and read this important FAQ here.
If you rent your home, or work with people who rent their home, and need a sample letter to send to your landlord because you think they are breaking the rules, please see page four of this information document.
If you rent your home, or work with people who rent their homes who speak Spanish, please download this information sheet in Spanish.
If you are a lawyer, and want to read a section by section summary of SB 608, please download this summary from the Oregon Law Center.
If you want to read the enrolled version of the bill, you can download it here.
Rent Stabilization:
SB 608 allows landlords to raise the rent up to a certain amount every year (seven percent plus inflation), and not above. The provisions are supposed to prevent extreme rent increases. By September 30th of every year, the Office of Economic Analysis will publish a yearly figure for the coming year. You can view the website here. In 2019, the allowed rent increase is 10.3%, effective after February 28, 2019.
Questions?
If you are a renter, you can:
Call the Renters Rights Hotline at the Community Alliance of Tenants at 503.288.0130
Find legal assistance for low income Oregonians: https://oregonlawhelp.org//resource/oregon-legal-aid-offices.
If you need a lawyer, the Oregon State Bar has a lawyer referral service. Dial 503.684.3763
The Oregon Housing Alliance is convened by the nonprofit Neighborhood Partnerships