No Rent Control in Portland? (real estate market, apartments, rental) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

oregonwana_b · 08-23-2007, 02:10 AM

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.

Drover · 08-23-2007, 02:30 AM

Very few cities have rent control because very few cities "need" it. Of course, the economic impact of rent control is to create even more need for rent control, but that's a different post for a different time and place.

jojo4 · 08-23-2007, 10:17 AM

from what I understand rent was pretty much frozen from 2000 to 2006 and has only recently shot up due to the real estate market problem.
up 10-20% depending on where you are. Some apartments got brought out and was renovated, contributing to higher rent.

nedroj · 08-23-2007, 04:53 PM

We are getting a house. Our rent is now $540 a month for a one bedroom, for the next tenants it will be $720. We live close-in N PDX. Rent has gotten unreal. Gone in our complex are the waiters and students, now it is full up with professionals making $20 an hour.

Drover · 08-23-2007, 05:28 PM

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.

nedroj · 08-23-2007, 06:25 PM

You haven't seen the apartment. The point is not the price but the increase, compared to how it increased in the past. The starving artist has being driven out. The good places to shop have been replaced with good places to window shop. Without affordable places to live within easy bike ride distance, Portland will become more like all the other cities. I am inclined to resist this. And with the city changing this fast, what you move here for may not be in three years which is all the time it took in my case.

aawest · 08-23-2007, 08:01 PM

This is the problem I have with Portland. It's no longer as cheap and livable as it was. The apartment prices are getting too expensive for what you get. Most apartments that are affordable are old and in bad condition. Also there is very little development of new apartments in the city. Much of the development is in high rise condos in the pearl district.

oldtintype · 08-23-2007, 09:41 PM

In the paper today there were several articles about rent/apartments, etc.
OregonLive.com: Everything Oregon

Or the specific link (make sure to read part 2 as well):
OregonLive.com: Everything Oregon

Drover · 08-24-2007, 04:52 AM

Quote:

You haven't seen the apartment. The point is not the price but the increase, compared to how it increased in the past. The starving artist has being driven out. The good places to shop have been replaced with good places to window shop. Without affordable places to live within easy bike ride distance, Portland will become more like all the other cities. I am inclined to resist this. And with the city changing this fast, what you move here for may not be in three years which is all the time it took in my case.

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, which were more expensive than 15 years ago, which were more expensive than 25 years ago, etc.

If you think rent in Portland is no longer affordable, try looking at rental rates in San Fran, L.A. San Diego, Boston, Washington, NYC, Chicago, and even Seattle. For a city of its size and quality, you really don't know how good you still have it.

And if you don't want change, why did you move to one of the most dynamic cities in the country? Change is inevitable. Every city has undergone change and every city will continue to undergo change. If you don't want change, move to a stagnant city like Buffalo or Pittsburgh, where everything is much like it was in the 70s, only there aren't as many jobs.

nedroj · 08-24-2007, 11:27 AM

Change is fine. I first moved to Portland in 99. Portland had a chance to do things differently. It doesn't seem to have done so, especially in the last five to six years. The city just doesn't seem to have the will. Maybe it was impossible. It is not change that I don't like, it is what changes, and at what speed. Any change is bad if it happens too fast. Water is great. Drink more of it. But wait, drink too much too fast and it will kill you.

"why did you move to one of the most dynamic cities in the country"
I moved here in 99 because of an on-line business venture. Yes a dot com that went bomb. I have since set down my roots and me and my wife are about to buy a Portland Community Land Trust (PCLT) house. Our mortgage will be barely more than the new rent on our apartment.

Portland didn't have to develop at this speed or in this way. PCLT is a good example of an effort to slow things down enough to allow enough time for communities to adapt and stay healthy. I guess I think of it like a forest, or an ecosystem. Any climatic change if it is too sudden or drastic is bad.