Maximum increase would have been 12.6% without new law; increases up to 14.6% allowed this year

By Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

Landlords subject to Oregon’s rent control law can increase rents 10% in 2024, the Department of Administrative Services announced Tuesday.

That’s the maximum allowed under a new law passed this year that sought to prevent most double-digit rent increases in years of high inflation. A 2019 law capped rent increases at 7% plus inflation, but high inflation in 2022 meant tenants received rent hikes as high as 14.6% this year. 

The new law added a 10% cap. It only applies to buildings that are at least 15 years old and doesn’t apply to subsidized housing. Property managers in newer buildings can increase rent as much as they see fit, and there’s no limit on how high a landlord can set rent for new tenants.

Tenant advocates and Sen. Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, initially tried to keep rent increases lower. Campos’ original bill would have capped rent hikes at 8% or 3% plus inflation, whichever was lower. The most recent West Coast consumer price index, which the state uses to calculate inflation, is 5.6%, meaning rent increases would have been limited to 8% under Campos’ original bill. 

Median rent in Oregon is around $1,820, according to the real estate website Zillow. 

Landlords are only allowed to raise rent once in a 12-month period, can’t raise rent during the first year of tenancy and must give 90 days written notice before raising rent. Landlords who increase rent beyond the allowed amount or evict a tenant in order to raise the rent are liable for paying their tenants three months rent plus actual damages. 

Julia Shumway has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix, Arizona.