Rent caps, condo construction among the proposals
Oregon legislators unveiled a series of housing proposals this week aimed at addressing the state’s housing affordability crisis.
With more than half of renters and a third of homeowners spending over 30% of their income on housing costs, these initiatives target mobile home park rent control, condo construction, holding deposit practices, and apartment cooling mandates.
Rent control for mobile home parks
One key proposal from Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, seeks to limit rent increases for manufactured home parks and marinas to the rate of inflation. Current laws cap rent hikes at 10%, or 7% plus inflation, whichever is lower, but Marsh says further restrictions are needed to protect residents.
“Our focus is entirely on rent increases, because that is the issue that is scaring the pants off of all manufactured home park tenants across the state,” said John VanLandingham, a Lane County legal aid attorney and vice president of the Oregon State Tenants Association.
Most residents in Oregon’s 1,328 manufactured home parks own their homes but rent the land, leaving them vulnerable to significant rent hikes. The proposal would align rent increases with Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, benefitting seniors and farmworkers who make up much of this population.
Encouraging condo construction
Oregon has seen a 92% drop in condo construction since 2006, with only 309 new units built last year. Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, attributed this to the state’s lengthy 10-year statute of limitations for construction defect claims, which exceed that of other West Coast states.
“We aren’t building condos in Oregon anymore, and we haven’t for years,” Meek said.
His proposed legislation would reduce the claim period to six years and require enhanced inspections of condo exteriors. These changes aim to mitigate developers’ legal risks and encourage condo construction, offering a more affordable alternative to single-family homes. In 2023, the median condo price in Oregon was $341,000, significantly lower than the $552,460 median price for single-family homes.
Read next: Condo owners in Florida rush to sell as safety laws tighten
Reforming holding deposit practices
Rep. Annessa Hartman, D-Gladstone, is targeting unfair practices involving holding deposits. Landlords often charge several hundred dollars—or up to a month’s rent—to secure a unit but may refuse to refund the money if the lease is not finalized.
Hartman’s proposal would require landlords to immediately refund deposits if they fail to provide a lease, such as in cases of overbooking or when a unit does not meet habitability standards. The bill also includes penalties equal to the amount of the deposit for landlords who violate these rules.
Cooling standards for apartments
In response to increasingly extreme heat events linked to climate change, lawmakers are proposing new cooling requirements for apartment complexes.
A Senate Housing and Development Committee bill would mandate central air conditioning, portable cooling units, or passive cooling systems in apartments with 10 or more units. Alternatively, landlords could provide access to community cooling spaces where temperatures are maintained below 80 degrees.
This follows a deadly 2021 heat wave that claimed 100 lives in Oregon. Lawmakers argue that cooling systems are as essential as heating, which is already required under state law.
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