What does House Bill 608 mean for landlords and renters? Find out today.

House Bill 608, which is related to rent increase limits, no-cause eviction, and relocation, has a lot of people concerned about the future of our market. Today, though, let’s dive into the facts. 

First of all, the bill does limit no-cause eviction. It essentially stipulates that renters who have lived in a property for at least one year can no longer be evicted without reason. There are a few exemptions to this.

If the landlord intends to convert a residential property to a commercial property, or if the property is set to be demolished in the near future, the current tenant can be evicted without additional cause. Tenants can also be evicted without cause if the landlord intends to make renovations which would make the unit unsafe for a tenant to reside in. Finally, tenants can be evicted without cause if the landlord or one of their immediate family members intends to move into the unit or if the landlord has sold the property to a new owner who intends to move in. 

“None of this applies to tenants who haven’t been paying rent or have otherwise failed to meet their contractual requirements laid out by their lease.”

However, even in the case of these exemptions, landlords are still required to give tenants 90 days of notice. 

Of course, none of this applies to tenants who haven’t been paying rent or have otherwise failed to meet their contractual requirements laid out by their lease. 

Another aspect of the bill is that it limits the amount that landlords can increase rent each year. (Landlords may not increase the rent above 7% plus the consumer price index or “CPI” in a 12-month period during a tenancy. The current limit on rent increases in 2019 is 10.4%. A landlord may not increase the rentduring the first year of a tenancy and must give the tenant 90-day notice in writing of any rent increase. Finally, the state’s law sets relocation fees at one month’s rent, while Portland and other cities have the amount set up to $4,500. There are no exemptions to this city-wide standard, but landlords are exempt from the state-wide law if they own four or fewer units. 

Hopefully, this has cleared things up a little. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.