PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon House voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 278, which will provide a 60-day grace period to Oregonians who cannot pay their rent in July.
The rent moratorium due to COVID-19 will end at the end of June for Oregonians, but with the passage of SB 278, if an Oregonian can provide paperwork to their landlord proving they applied for federal housing assistance, the landlord cannot evict them for not paying for an additional 60 days.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have taken unprecedented steps to keep Oregonians housed. While things are back to normal for some families, many are still struggling with the impacts of the most unequal recession in American history,” said Rep. Julie Fahey, who carried the bill on the House floor. “We now have the resources we need to prevent evictions, to make housing providers whole, and to stabilize tenants and landlords. This bill gives tenants the time they need to access those resources without fear of an eviction.”
House Bill 4401, which extended the moratorium through June 30, was passed in a special session in December 2020. Data from the National Council of State Housing Agencies estimated that anywhere from 27,700 to 56,100 Oregon households would have been at risk of eviction without this extension.
“We cannot take our eye off the ball when federal aid is just now starting to reach those who need it most,” said Rep. Winsvey Campos, the vice chair of the House Housing Committee. “Evictions and houselessness, even if it is short-term, can be a deeply traumatic experience. This bill avoids so much needless suffering by allowing Oregonians who have been most heavily impacted by the pandemic to remain in their homes long enough for that necessary relief to arrive.”
Some landlords stood in opposition of SB 278, however.
"There’s a lot of landlords out there who can’t afford that," said Christian Bryant, president of the Portland Area Rental Owners Association, in partnership with RPM Education.
He says the last 15 months have already been tough for smaller landlords who were forced into foreclosure or had to sell property.
"There was definitely help that was needed, protection that was needed so that we didn’t end up with more homeless than we already did. But it’s not fair to do it in ways of passing laws like this which forces landlords to foot the bill and subsidize that help," said Bryant.
SB 278 now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.
