No Rent Control in Portland? (Green: transplants, foreclosure, house prices)

[oldtintype]

I moved here in 1999 too and I think that the changes here have been GREAT! It's such a better place than it was in 1999 in my opinion--it's become more like a "real" big city. I know that not everyone wants that but while I worry about the fact that they expect a million more people by 2030 and how drastically things are going to change, I still think so far that changes have been positive (and no, I don't like that rents and housing prices have skyrocketed, but I mean mostly the changes in the city itself). I know that it's hard to see a place you like turn into something else though. San Fran in the 1990s due to the dot com boom turned into something out of control that changed pretty much everything and that's partly why I left. Change is going to happen no matter what and it just depends what camp you're in in terms of liking or hating it. As for Portland, when I moved here I moved here knowing/hoping it was going to change and grow so I've liked most of what's happened.

[Supernova7]

I believe there needs to be rent control in every city, so Portland is not excluded. You need to make the city affordable for the poor just as much as for the rich. The kid working part-time at McDonald's needs a place to live just as much as an Attorney making six figure salary.

[Lillietta]

[quote=Drover;1346861]This tune is being sung in the majority of cities across America. Rents are more expensive in every city now than they were 5 years ago,

Rents in Portland are still cheaper than even Minneapolis or Saint Paul, two cities together matching Portland's population; however, the cost of purchasing a house is higher in Portland than in the Twin Cities.

[angrygabi]

Originally Posted by oregonwana_b

I just read on this thread that there is no rent control in Portland... Ouch!!
I am moving there soon. I live in Cali in a rent controlled building for eight
years. Thank God because I would not have been able to afford the rents
here if I didn't have RC.
My question is : Is there really no rent control laws there?.
And for those of you who live in a non-rent control building, how often
does your landlord raise your rent? And how much each time?.
Any answers would be helpful.

It's true, there is NO rent control in Oregon. Rents get raised usually annually, that's normal. Rent may be raised drastically if your building is sold. Several of my friends in the last couple of years have lost apartments because the building was sold to convert to condos. We pretty much have little to no tenant protections here. If you're renting month to month, your tenancy is "at will" and you can be kicked out at any time with 30 days notice, for any or no reason at all. Right now, rents are completely out of control in Portland and my blood is boiling from looking at 1 and 2 bdrm apartments people think they'll be renting for $2500 a month because they slapped in some granite counter tops. GRRRR!

[angrygabi]

Right now that's not the case in Portland, we seem to still be at the end of the real estate rush and nothing is being built for the poor or even the average wage. People here don't make the wages that would meet the rents that are being charged.

[angrygabi]

I don't think so. I just looked online and I think Twin Cities is at minimum a couple hundred bucks cheaper than Portland right now.

[Minervah]

This is an old but interesting thread. It is not uncommon to receive $100-$200 rent increases. It has happened to me. The tenants in my former building have seen $50.00-$100 increases a couple of times over the past year. There is no restriction on how much rents can be raised and I believe it can be raised up to four times a year so if you can get a year's lease you are lucky. A friend of mine was paying the unheard of rent of $480.00 for a one bedroom up until a year or so ago. Then her rent increased to $550.00 which is still cheap but quite a hike. Most one bedrooms are in the $700 plus bracket.

Someone mentioned that they laughed at the idea of people here thinking $720 was expensive. It is if you are only making $10 an hour which is even more than a lot of people make. I know rents are cheaper in Minn because that's one of the places I am contemplating a move to and I have been watching rent prices there.

[bliss61]

Metros with the biggest rent drops - MSN Real Estate

[PortlandRenter]

Originally Posted by Drover

So there you have it. The fact that someone can actually complain about the oh-so-astronomical rent of $720/mo is a fantastic illustration of why Portland doesn't have or need rent control.

Wages in Chicago are substantially higher than they are in Portland OR. When you make minimum wage, $720 for a 460 square foot apt to house a family of 4 is pretty rediculous. With the level of foreclosures rents have gone through the roof since occupancy levels are high there is no competition to offer anything. Most people do not know their rights and are afraid of being evicted so landlards are pretty lousey.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by PortlandRenter

Wages in Chicago are substantially higher than they are in Portland OR. When you make minimum wage, $720 for a 460 square foot apt to house a family of 4 is pretty rediculous. With the level of foreclosures rents have gone through the roof since occupancy levels are high there is no competition to offer anything. Most people do not know their rights and are afraid of being evicted so landlards are pretty lousey.

Uhm... if you're paying $720/mo for a 460sqft apartment in Portland for a family of 4 while earning minimum wage, you've taken so many wrong turns in your life that it's hard to feel sorry for you. But I'm sure that's an extremely common scenario in Portland rather than an extreme outlier of a hypothetical example.