The Renters' Bill of Rights
1. Require 6 months notice before all rent increases
2. Mandate relocation assistance when rent increases more than 5%
3. Protect children and education workers from evictions for late rent during the school year
4. Protect renters from evictions for late rent during extreme weather events
5. Cap fees such as 'pet rent', late fees, laundry fees, and other excessive charges and deposits
6. Require that code violations be resolved before rent can be increased
7. Establish a right to counsel in eviction court – no tenant should go to court without legal defense provided
8. Demand that local rent control be allowed throughout Oregon
9. Link rent to the minimum wage such that all full-time workers can afford a 1-bedroom apartment with no more than 30% of their income
Why Now?
Each year, rising rents in our region extract a painful share of working class renters' incomes. Annual rent hikes of up to 10% damage or wipe out any wage increases that workers win. The burden of rent speculation falls heaviest on low wage workers and people on fixed incomes, threatening all low income people with evictions.The crisis of houselessness extracts a rising cost on all sectors of our society. It is the acknowledged #1 issue on the minds of voters. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year to deal with the crisis, while elected officials have avoided confronting the continuous threat of rent speculation.We must immediately intervene to protect renters, prevent further increases in houselessness, and build a sustainable future for all.
Why these protections?
Last November, voters in Tacoma, WA passed a progressive Tenant Bill of Rights adding 6 critical protections for renters (pictured). This inspired similar successes in Olympia and Bellingham.To these critical rights, we've added 3 protections sorely needed in Portland:
– The right to legal representation in eviction court
– The right to local rent control that meets our needs
– The guarantee that full-time minimum wage workers can afford a standard 1-bedroom apartmentLike our neighbors, we must pass these essential rights to create stability for renters and level the playing field between tenants and landlords.
Stop Tenant Exploitation
1. Require 6 months notice before all rent increases
Just because the rent is going up, doesn't mean your income is.Renters deserve as much time as possible to be able to account for changes in their housing costs, ensuring they have enough time to find new housing if necessary.Currently, landlords exploit short notice periods to force busy renters to sign costly renewals.
2. Mandate relocation assistance when rent increases more than 5%
Currently, Portland requires that landlords pay their tenants relocation assistance if they raise their rent by 10% (the maximum allowable annual increase in Oregon), forcing the tenants to move. In order to avoid this, most landlords will not raise the rent by more than 9.9% per year.Lowering the threshold from 10% to 5% will help put the brakes on unaffordable rent hikes and keep people in their homes.
Keep Renters Housed
3. Protect children and education workers from evictions for late rent during the school year
Upwards of 90% of evictions filed in Multnomah county are for late rent. We must protect vulnerable students, teachers, and other school workers while they work to pay their rent.
Save Lives
4. Protect renters from evictions for late rent during extreme weather events
Our region faces both freezing temperatures in the winter and deadly heat in the summer. Keeping folks housed during these periods saves lives.
Keep Housing Affordable & Safe
5. CAP FEES SUCH AS 'PET RENT', LATE FEES, LAUNDRY FEES, AND OTHER EXCESSIVE CHARGES AND DEPOSITS
The additional costs that landlords tack onto rent are totally unregulated, leading to surprises like $200 late fees. We must rein them in.
6. REQUIRE THAT CODE VIOLATIONS BE RESOLVED BEFORE RENT CAN BE INCREASED
Currently there is no requirement for landlords to address code violations, so they're often ignored. Housing quality deteriorates while rent soars.
End Unrepresented Evictions
7. ESTABLISH A RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN EVICTION COURT
Multnomah county has the highest per-rental eviction filing rate in Oregon. Meanwhile, only 7% of tenants have representation in court compared to 82% of landlords.NYC's right to council program found that when represented, 84% of tenants stayed in their homes and as a result overall eviction filings decreased by 30%.
Keep housing affordable
8. Demand that local rent control be allowed throughout Oregon
Currently, there is a statewide allowable annual rent increase of 10%, and all localities are banned from implementing a lower limit. Meanwhile, rent is already unaffordable for half of all tenants.We must demand that the state legislature allow us to implement more aggressive local rent control so that we can freeze rent during this affordability crisis.San Francisco has capped annual increases for rent controlled units at 1.7% – why can't we?
Lower the Rent
9. Link rent to the minimum wage such that all full-time workers can afford a 1-bedroom apartment with no more than 30% of their income
We cannot maintain a society where the majority of workers cannot afford to live.Half of all renters nationwide are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income to rent. 25% of all renters pay at least half of their income.Businesses are expected to subsidize landlord greed, but fail to keep up – leaving their employees in increasingly impossible situations.
The gulf between wages and rent widens every year.We must secure rent caps such that anyone working full-time on minimum wage can afford a standard apartment with 30% of their income.
Pledge Signers
The Renters' Bill of Rights is a project of the Portland Democratic Socialists of America and Renters Action Network
Candidates
Portland City Council District 1
Jamie Dunphy
Cayle Tern
David Linn
Portland City Council District 2
Jennifer Park
Sameer Kanal
Chris Olson
Jonathan Tasini
Marnie Glickman
Portland City Council District 3
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Angelita Morillo
Ahlam Osman
Theo Hathaway Saner
Brian Conley
Portland City Council District 4
Mayor
Organizations
Portland Democratic Socialists of America
Renters Action Network
Oregon Progressive Party
Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice
Individuals
TJ Noddings (D3)
Michael Edera (D4)
Lea B. (D3)
James Renola (D2)
Stephanie “Lunette” Wimberly (D4)
Jamie Partridge (D2)
Erik (D4)
Aiden Summers (D4)
Heather (D2)
Jacob Apenes (D2)
Maddy Broom (D3)
Forrest (D3)
Caz Novak (D4)
Phil Viana (D2)
John Bethencourt (D3)
Talley (D2)
Zack (D3)
Isaac (D2)
Joe Rowe (D2)
William Fish (D2)
Katrina Doughty
Jakob Vala (D4)
Chelsea (D3)
Jessamyne Ivy (D1)
Philip Runia (D4)
Kael Schneider (D3)
Lonan (D4)
Rhys Anderson (D3)
Washer (D3)
Josuee Hernandez (D3)
Kyle Yoshioka (D3)
Jacob Simpson (D3)
Hunter Fagan (D3)
Elijah (D3)
Em (D4)
Matt Pardue
Elizabeth (D1)
Kirsten L (D3)
Dani Nelsen (D2)
Carmen Tomas (D1)
Brittney Baldwin (D3)
Evan G (D3)
Clark (D3)
Jorge Sanchez Bautista (D2)
Lisa Webb (D2)
Seth Christman (D2)
Vincent Cruz (D3)
Alexandra O’Connor (D3)
Lindsay (D3)
Anthony (D4)
Sara (D4)
Daniel Thorpe (D4)
Janani Srinivasan (D3)
Andrew Berka (D4)
Erin (D3)
Paige (D4)
Cailin Moore (D2)
Danielle Mayberry (D3)
John Anthony Giacoppe (D3)
Levi Belton
Caio Peixoto (D2)
Ghassan A. (D2)
Ashley Farrell (D3)
Jennifer C Cleveland (D2)
Hannah Spencer (D3)
Felix (D2)
Bee Lackner (D4)
Brennan (D1)
Amelia Rossa (D3)
Jessi Presley-Grusin (D3)
Shishir (D4)
Brina (D1)
Kathleen Saelor (D2)
Kayla Ford (D2)
Alexandra Hanton (D3)
Dominic Belcastro (D3)
Stephen (D4)
Babs Vanelli (D2)
Tristan Flores-Carley (D4)
Keiv (D4)
Noah Lamb (D3)
Dan (D2)
Alanna Flack (D2)
Alyssa (D3)
Esmée Silverman
Jacob B (D2)
Laura Tigert (D4)
Lydia (D1)
Clay Hasson Saa (D3)
Renee Wandell (D3)
Ariana Knowles (D3)
Jonathan Cobb (D1)
Nicolai Hansen (D3)
Michael Peterson
Michael Serface
Bianca Naylor (D3)
Claire Guzior (D3)
Arlo Dibble
Julie Bade (D3)
Darcie Davis
Bruce MacDonald (D3)
Dustin Ragsdale (D2)
Maia Johnson (D3)
Morgan Stewart (D4)
Sirrus Lawson (D3)
Helena Martyn (D3)
Zachary Palms (D2)
Sally Joughin (D3)
Will Costello (D3)
Jeff Landale (D3)
Davis Van Luren (D3)
Kristy Palmer (D4)
Christi Newton
Pat O'Herron (D2)
Rachel D. (D1)
Connor R. (D3)
Derek Bourquein (D3)
Bill Eason (D3)
Erica Eason (D3)
Carson Crawford (D2)
Brianna Brawley (D2)
Spencer Colvenares (D4)
Eva Moreno (D4)
Susan Lehman (D2)
Linda Angst (D3)
Alexis Fosener (D4)
Ryan Mashino (D4)
Shelby Lindsay (D3)
Matt Simmers (D3)
Jamie Kirk (D3)
Renae Roemmich (D3)
Brill Ritter (D4)
Hayley Still (D4)
Jeff Dilba
Azita Roshani (D3)
Garrett Dubow (D4)
Zach Ledford (D3)
Riley Henne
Grace Naldon (D3)
Haley (D3)
Cale Bickler (D3)
Mackinlie Mayhard (D3)
Samarra Coalwell (D3)
Cheryl Brown (D3)
Chad Steele (D3)
Courtney Nicholas (D4)
Madisen Davis Lattanzi
Justin F (D3)
Cassie Wilson (D3)
Erik Fletcher (D3)
Lydia Kiesling (D3)
Galen (D4)
Fiona (D2)
Nico Gouveia (D2)
Lara (D2)
Ivana Turner (D4)
Mckenzie Finn (D3)
Samantha Cohen (D2)
Juan Chavez (D3)
Cian Accuardi-Shelley (D1)
Kathleen Rodriguez Perez (D3)
Laura (D1)
Maria Sipin (D4)
Eric Gold (D2)
Ciara Camara Raygoza
Aaron Simon (D2)
Taylor (D4)
Kip
Cody (D3)
Benjamin Gilbert (D4)
Ali Marmaduke (D4)
Sarah (D3)
Alyssa Judd (D2)
Jean Olm (D2)
Kristen McKee (D3)
Colin John (D2)
Arrison J. Warner (D3)
Zack (D2)
Felisa (D2)
Tyler Stoll (D3)
Andre jaurigui (D3)
Alice Ott (D3)
Ava Phillips (D3)
Zach (D3)
Adam Russell Pennavaria (D3)
Kimberly Gorka (D3)
Max (D2)
David (D3)
Lindsey (D4)
Alexis Alcorn (D2)
Dan Silver (D2)
Candice C (D1)
Jude Singer (D3)
Angelina Novelli (D2)
Laura Fleming (D3)
peter (D3)
Tanya Miller (D4)
Jeremy S (D3)
Milo Nida (D2)
Melissa (D3)
Lauren G. (D3)
Aaron Bankes (D3)
Hadley Bates (D2)
Kathryn Lynn Carney
Leeor Schweitzer (D2)
Cassie O'Neill (D3)
Ethan Ramsay (D1)
Paul Riek (D2)
Jarrett (D3)
August Mollet (D3)
Brian Ettling (D1)
Chloe Costello (D3)
Jeremy Beausoleil Smith (D4)
Michael Ortolano (D3)
Melissa Blount (D2)
Asa Stella Maris (D3)
Hannah Mendoza (D3)
Jordan Lewis (D4)
Erin Meechan
Hyung Nam (D3)
Mackenzie Kirsch (D2)
Alyssa-Danielle Humann (D3)
Mitchell Tillges (D3)
Stacey Nuissl (D2)
Dave Shirkhami
Claire Schermeister (D2)
LaShanté Tonkins (D2)
Aajanai Glover (D2)
Stephanie Harris (D3)
Cody Webb
Tishanna Strickland (D3)
Adam Pennavaria (D3)
Jacob Harris (D4)
Jennifer (D4)
Lilly Kane (D2)
Kaiya Woodruff (D)
Mike Grigsby-Lane (D2)
David Delk (D3)
Rev. Robert Murphy
Sally Jane Gellert
Misha Miller-Sisson (D3)
Lizzie Martinez (D3)
Sarah Korn (D2)
Desi Green (D3)
Cleo Mayne (D3)
Evangel Smith (D3)
Jose Combs (D3)
Caryn Barretta (D3)
Julia (D3)
Michael O'Callaghan
Eli Ronick (D2)
Nathaniel (D2)
Gardenia (D2)
Rachel Dubuc (D2)
Jess Cole
Sarah Weiss (D4)
Annie Capestany (D4)
Nathan Berres (D4)
Zachary (D3)
Didi Turner (D4)
Karlee Hoffart (D3)
Adri C (D3)
Emily Carpenter-Munroe
Adamarys Cruz (D3)
Diana Rempe (D2)
Silas (D2)
Forest Tyler (D2)
Brandon Dilser (D3)
Rio Lehman (D3)
Owen Scholer (D3)
Gaz Davis (D3)
Andy Alvorez (D3)
Sanllin H. (D3)
Lily Cronn (D3)
Lauren Cannata (D3)
Irene Blackman (D1)
Scarlet Armstrong (D4)
Simone Thomas (D4)
Daniel Becker (D1)
Christina Owens (D1)
Raylie Wayne Hunt (D4)
Sandra Decker (D1)
Erin (D3)
Candace Honecker (D3)