ORHA News

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
November 2023

ORH Key PAC
As we gear up for the 2024 election cycle, it’s a good time to remind you of the good work done by the Oregon Rental Housing Key PAC. Please see the Key PAC message later in the newsletter for all the important reasons we make this annual “ask” and to donate.

Property Management Palooza!
Mark your calendars for our annual ORHA Property Management Palooza on Friday, May 17, 2024. This year’s event is being held in eastern Oregon at the Oxford Suites in Hermiston. Hermiston is gorgeous in the Spring, and they have a fantastic Aquatic Center, so bring the family for a tax-deductible learning trip while enjoying some time away. ORHA committee meetings will be held on Thursday that month, with the Board Meeting happening on Saturday. Planning begins early next year, and we hope to see you all there.

November Board Meeting Virtual
Our November Board Meeting is virtual. Look for details in Ben’s Office Report. We have some big decisions to make about form changes and new forms so Forms Committee Members, please prioritize being at our Friday Committee Meeting. We will be asking the board for a vote on direction on several urgent matters ahead of law changes pending for 2024. See the Forms Committee Report later in the newsletter for more information.

Remember, the board voted to stop meeting in January, so, no board meeting until March 15-17, 2024, in beautiful Bandon at the Best Western Inn at Face Rock. Look for an invite soon!

Wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday season. Thank you for your support.

By: Tia Politi, ORHA Forms Committee Chair
November 2023

New and revised forms 2023 – Part 1 

Rent Increases
The enactment of Senate Bill 611, on July 7, 2023, placed further limits on rent increases in the state. Due to the existing limits in the city of Portland and newly enacted restrictions in the city of Eugene, the ORHA Forms Committee has decided to remove Portland Notice of Rent Increase (Form O1PD) and change the existing form Notice of Rent Increase (Form O1) to accommodate the requirements of both cities, while also allowing the form to serve the rest of Oregon.

If you have older forms, they are still okay to use if you are aware of the new limits which are as follows: 

1. Rent may not be increased during the first year of tenancy.
2. Rent may only be increased once per year.
3. Unless exempt, rent increases are limited to 7% plus the CPI for the West Coast, OR 10%, whichever is less, unless exempt. Properties built within 15 years prior to the date of the notice of increase are exempt from the rent cap but if you’re claiming the exemption, you must provide supporting facts.
4. For rental properties subject to the requirements of the Portland Housing Bureau, or the Eugene Rental Housing Code, each city has different requirements. In both cities, if a Landlord increases rent by the maximum allowable amount they are liable for relocation expenses, unless exempt.

a. In Portland, you must provide specific notices with any notice of rent increase, regardless of whether it is to the maximum and regardless of exemption. Visit https://www.portland.gov/phb/rental-services/renter-relocation-assistance for more information.

b. In Eugene, unless exempt, if you will be raising rent to the maximum, you must provide the entirety of Section 17 in Ordinance 20694 (at the time of publication of this notice, we are still waiting for the Eugene City Manager to provide interpretive rules and the required language in a form). Visit https://www.eugene-or.gov/845/Rental-Housing-Code for more information.

We have also changed Notice of Lease Renewal (Form O3) to accommodate these changes at the state and local level.

The Forms Committee is pleased to announce the launch of Late Fee/Renters’ Insurance Change in Terms (Form O15). We will let you know when the form is officially launched. In the meantime, scan this QR code for samples of this new form and the updated Notice of Rent Increase (Form O1) and Notice of Lease Renewal (Form O3) along with instructions for their use.

Pending new and revised forms for 2024

Family Child Care Homes
The committee is working on finalizing In-Home Child Care Agreement (Form O6) for Tenants who wish to operate a Certified or Registered Family Child Care Home in the rental property on or after January 1, 2024, in accordance with SB 599A. Thanks to Eugene attorney Brian Cox, for his work on this form. We will be emailing a sample of the form with instructions just as soon as it’s ready, along with an educational article describing the requirements Tenants must meet to be authorized to offer such services and what Landlords can require. Before you panic, there are hefty requirements for both the property and the Tenant, so only the most responsible of Tenants will be able to meet the standards.

HB 2680 - New Disclosures Required for Assessing Applicant Screening Charges
Other pending changes coming January 1, 2024, include a change to Application to Rent (Form S1). We are removing specific language regarding Owner/Agent’s ability to charge noncompliance fees and just refer to ORS 90.302 to make room for new language requirements imposed by HB 2680A as follows:

“If Owner/Agent is assessing an Applicant Screening Charge in accordance with ORS 90.295, promptly after each screening conducted by a tenant screening company or consumer credit reporting agency, Owner/Agent shall provide the Applicant with confirmation of the screening, including a copy of a receipt from the company or agency. If, prior to conducting or ordering any screening an Applicant withdraws their application in writing, Owner/Agent must refund the screening charge within 30 days. If Owner/Agent fails to comply with these requirements, the tenant may recover twice the amount of the screening charge paid plus $250.00.”

Additionally, gender identity is a new protected class that will be listed on the Application Screening Guidelines page of the form. Chapters will need to replace these forms; however, for landlords who don’t charge a screening fee, the existing forms are still useable. We will notify you when they are ready to order and available at the Forms Store.

SB 1069 - Change in Allowance for Service of Notice

In accordance with SB 1069B, beginning January 1, 2024, landlords will have the right to serve notice by email-and-mail. Like post-and-mail, but instead of posting, you email a copy of the notice in addition to sending it by First Class Mail. Like service of notice by post-and-mail, you must meet specific criteria to be able to serve notices by this method. To allow for this type of service, the landlord and tenant must enter into a written agreement after the tenancy has begun and the tenant has taken possession of the unit, so you can’t make it a condition of tenancy. The agreement must list the email address(es) of both parties and allows either party to change their preferred email address with three days’ written notice. The agreement may be cancelled by either party with three days’ written notice. We are currently in discussion with the board and will decide at the November meeting regarding changes to the service boxes of our forms. We will let you know the outcome and send an eblast when the form is ready.

SB 1069 - Change in allowance for landlord return of moneys owed by electronic means

This bill also allows for a landlord to refund any amounts due to the tenant by electronic means with the written agreement of both parties after the tenancy has begun and the tenant has taken possession of the unit. We are developing a form to allow for this and will send out an eblast when the form is ready.

Remember, if you have any suggestions for improvements to our existing forms, or want us to add new forms, you can email your ideas to forms@oregonrentalhousing.com.

Tia Politi, ORHA Forms Committee Chair

By: Tia Politi
November 2023

When I give classes to tenants, I warn them:  Who you choose to be roommates with is only slightly less important than who you choose to marry. Platonic or romantic, relationships can fizzle, and what is normally a private matter between adults can become a landlord’s problem when relationships between tenants go south. In both cases, the roommate relationship creates not only personal entanglements, but legal ones as well. You can avoid choosing sides, but when their break-up drama impacts their tenancy, your involvement may be required.

Terminate MTM
Throughout most of my career in private property management, I always thought that in a month-to-month agreement, one or both tenants could simply give their 30-day notice and move out and be released from liability at that time – I was wrong. To remove themselves from a periodic rental agreement requires that all parties agree, including the landlord and the other tenants. If everyone agrees to the release of a party or a tenant swap as often happens in college rentals, we have a great form – Add or Release Tenant Rental Agreement Addendum – ORHA form #O8 – that can help you accomplish the removal and/or addition.

The form makes it clear that the person leaving is not entitled to a deposit refund and anyone signing on accepts responsibility for the current condition of the property. Typically, in a swap situation, the incoming roommate will pay the departing roommate some amount of the deposit they paid on moving in and they work it out everyone signs and moves on - but not always. The departing tenant may want all or part of their portion of the deposit returned and may balk at signing an agreement that waives their rights. The remaining tenant may insist that any damage was caused by the other and is therefore not their responsibility or they may not want to release the departing tenant for other reasons.

But both parties have incentives to cooperate. For the departing tenant they don’t have to give up their right to a deposit accounting and potential refund, but they stay on the hook for money owed at the end for damage, rent or whatever. For the remaining tenant, they don’t have to sign a release, but the departed tenant retains the right to reoccupy the unit and can veto adding anyone else to the agreement.

Depending on the terms of your rental agreement, you may have the right to have everyone move out based on notice given by one tenant. Sometimes the revolving door gets old, and you just want to start over, or maybe it’s your opportunity to do something different with the property. Whatever the reason, if your agreement states that notice given by one is binding on all, you can make the decision to require everyone to vacate. If you are in this situation where one person provides their notice and you want everyone to move, you might consider sending a Confirmation of Tenant’s Notice to Terminate – ORHA form #T12. This form gives move out instructions and the date of move out which is sure to initiate a conversation with the other tenants who have not given notice. The others may be unhappy with the decision so be ready for some push back.

Terminate FTL
When a fixed-term lease expires, however, any single tenant can terminate their tenancy and not be held liable on and on. They have the right to leave at the end with proper notice. In this case, there’s no requirement for the landlord or other tenants to release them, they may demand their portion of the deposit back, and you may have to provide it. Just like with a MTM agreement, if your contract has the proper language, you can require that everyone move out and start over, or work with the remaining tenants to add a new household member.

Back in the day when I was managing private property, I had a group of tenants in a lease where one wanted out at the end and insisted on the full return of her deposit. Because the others wanted to stay, they elected to refund her portion of the deposit, and the remaining three never replaced her and just took responsibility for the extra rent. The remaining tenants accepted that she wasn’t being charged for carpet cleaning, etc., but it did save us all a lot of hassle, so in that situation it worked for all concerned.

In another situation, I had a group of three campus tenants, two of whom wished to renew their lease for another year and one of whom wanted to move out at the end of the lease term. Even though she wasn’t required to, the departing tenant signed a lease renewal with her remaining roomies for another year, but they had another applicant who we approved and who took the departing tenant’s place. The departing tenant also agreed to work out the return of her portion of the security deposit with the incoming tenant, so my job in this case was easy – add one tenant and remove another on the lease renewal. They dealt with the security deposit on their own, and we released her from any claim for or responsibility to the new lease. This scenario only worked because everyone agreed in writing.

In the event that a departing tenant to a fixed-term lease is not okay with this scenario, and you can’t or don’t want to force everyone out, you and the tenants will be faced with a few choices: 1) Refund the departing tenant’s portion (best have confirmation that everyone agrees to the amount) of the deposit paid on move in, and allow the remaining tenants to find a new qualified roommate who will repay that portion of the deposit to you when all parties sign a new lease; 2) Collect a new deposit from the tenants who wish to remain as well as the ones who will be moving in. Then, when the current lease expires, do a walk through with both the departing and remaining tenants. Account for any visible damages and charge those to the current tenants’ deposit, provide a written accounting and refund any remaining balance in the names of all the tenants within 31 days as the law requires. 3) Have all of the tenants move out, do the work to turn the property, and reconcile their deposit issuing any refund in all their names. The remaining tenants can then pay a new deposit and move back in on a new lease. This is the cleanest option but is a huge hassle for all concerned.

And you don’t have to agree to release or add anyone if you don’t want to unless a lease is being broken for other reasons. Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking (and effective January 1, 2024, victims of bias crimes as well), have special termination rights under landlord-tenant law, and so do active-duty military servicemembers who are being deployed. Otherwise, a tenant can choose to leave the property and not live there but they remain liable until the lease ends.

I dealt with a situation where two men rented a two-bedroom campus apartment, but apparently did not know each other very well. One of the tenants started smoking pot in the unit and inviting his friends over for marathon video game sessions. The other tenant wanted to sleep and study and had done everything he could to get his roommate to get along, but in the end, he chose to move out rather than try to keep working on the situation. With multiple complaints from neighbors about pot smoking and loud music, we issued a Warning Notice followed by a 30/14 – a Notice of Termination with Cause. The behavior of the remaining tenant improved for a while, but in the end, we evicted for failure to pay rent and his continuing to smoke pot in the unit. Because all an eviction decides is possession, the eviction papers only named the remaining tenant who remained in the unit; however, because we declined the opportunity to release him from the lease, the departing tenant and his co-signer remained liable for the unpaid balance and damage to the unit, including eviction costs for his pathetic roommate. It was a harsh lesson.

Abandonment
I’ve also had situations where one roommate just moved out and moved on without a word to their roommates or me, their manager. What I’ve always wondered about is whether at some point they could be considered to have abandoned the rental unit. ORS 90.147 Delivery of Possession talks about a landlord receiving possession of their property by abandonment if they “reasonably believe under all the circumstances that the tenant has abandoned the unit and no longer intends to assert a right of possession.” This statute deals with the landlord recovering possession of the unit, but can it apply to one tenant only when the landlord does not get possession of the unit and the tenancy continues? Sometimes reaching out to let the departed tenant know they’re still on the hook can get a response, but sometimes not. Can you just remove them? Allow the remaining tenant to add another? I don’t know. This may be a good time to seek some legal advice.

Adding Tenants
If you are amenable to adding others to an existing agreement, in addition to signing the Add or Release form, I recommend that any addition to the household also sign the existing rental docs, or if your agreement is older, it can be a great opportunity to update your docs and you can have everyone sign an updated agreement and addendums.

This column offers general suggestions only and is no substitute for professional legal counsel. Please consult an attorney for advice related to your specific situation.

Rev 10/2023

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
October 2023

Meeting report
We had a fantastic turnout for our Bend meeting this year and a record number who stayed for Teams training on Sunday morning. Since we only meet in person four times a year, we need to make the most of it and we sure did. The Leadership Dinner was great, and Committee Chairs shared their updates for the year. We then headed back to McMenamins Parish House for fun and games. After the board meeting Saturday, we headed back to the house and out the back door to the patio where we ate, drank, and made merry while listening to lively Irish music.

We are working diligently to include fun with the work!

The board voted to approve bylaws change related to profit sharing for the Forms Store. Sharing will now happen once per year instead of twice. The formula will remain the same, but some chapters were noting that the twice per year formula was having a negative impact on their sharing amounts as some six-month periods were falling when they had fewer members. Associations will now receive one annual payment at the end of each fiscal year that will more accurately measure membership levels. Checks for chapters who are eligible for profit-sharing will be sent no later than August 31 of each year.

Upcoming meetings and meeting changes
Since our board has grown, the Executive Committee is making some changes to how our meetings will run. With a larger group it’s more challenging to keep things on track so our meetings will be much more formal moving forward. We will be strictly following Roberts Rules of Order because meetings aren’t as productive if we don’t stay on track. Past President Jason Miller has agreed to serve as Parliamentarian to help me keep things running smoothly. There will be a reminder at the beginning of each meeting so we’re all on the same page.

Our November meeting is online only, and barring any unforeseen emergencies, no meeting in January. Our March meeting will be held in beautiful Bandon on March 15-16, 2024. Look for an announcement from the office about reserving your space, and in May, we’re heading east for a Property Management Palooza in Umatilla. Stay tuned for more info.

Fentanyl
I got a call from a Lane member last month, here’s his story:

“We entered an apartment after a Sheriff lockout. Upon entry the police notified us about a bunch of drug paraphernalia scattered throughout the apartment. Needles, foil, bongs, and pipes. We wore gloves and proceeded to clean the unit out by carefully removing the bigger items that we could not use a shovel to remove first. We then used scoop shovels to clean the remaining apartment. Once cleaned out, we proceeded to remove the carpet. Upon removing and disposing of the carpet into the dump trailer, one of my employees started feeling dizzy and nauseous. We helped him to the ground and called 911.

With the knowledge of the apartment condition, we were concerned he may be experiencing some kind of drug exposure – likely fentanyl. The EMT’s showed up, administered Narcan, and he immediately started to feel better. We then took him to the ER for testing to make sure it wasn’t some other kind of health emergency. Upon further testing his health was good but his urine screen showed trace amounts of opioids (he is not a drug user).

So, what we learned is: We should have had masks on, disposable paper suits on, and worn safety glasses. I have been in this business for over 20 years. We have cleaned out and removed carpet from hundreds of apartments. I learned that we as honest hard-working people cannot take things for granted any longer. The things people are putting in their bodies can hurt or kill us without even knowing it’s happening. Luckily, he wasn’t working alone and was able to get help immediately. We will always have paper suits, masks, gloves on for carpet removal and clean-outs from here on out. This small exposure did affect him for about three days mentally and physically. Be safe out there!”

It seems that Narcan should now be part of the standard maintenance supplies you keep on hand. I looked it up online and you can purchase Narcan at any pharmacy like Walmart or CVS. So awful that we must do this. Check out the DEA fact sheet – click here.

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
September 2023

Looking forward to seeing our chapter delegates at our September meeting in Bend for committee meetings and the Leadership Dinner on Friday the 15^th, and the board meeting on Saturday the 16^th. If you’re able to stay over on Saturday, a group of us will be heading to McMennamin’s Old Francis School after the meeting to enjoy their “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” celebration with The Ballybogs a traditional Irish music band from 3:30 – 6 p.m., followed by Major Dudes – a Steely Dan Tribute Band from 7 – 9:30 a.m. for those who can stay up later. After all that hard work we need some fun and R & R. Hope to see you there!

The September meeting is where we set our annual calendar for the next year. Not as challenging as it used to be now that we have set venues for two out of our four meetings each year. We’ll be deciding on venues for March in the southern Oregon region and May 2023 when we do our property management seminar.

On August 25, 2023, the city of Eugene enacted Phase II of its renter protections. Read my article later in the newsletter. Part of it is quite complex with various notice periods that if missed, will incur very high penalties. Just like with Portland’s ill-advised overlays to state law, I continue to hear about landlords selling and taking their money out of the area. Of course, the big guys keep building their giant complexes so on paper it may look like we’re adding units but not everyone wants to live in an apartment. Anyway, it is what it is, and we must adapt. The Forms Committee is racing to provide forms to meet the need, but they aren’t quite ready yet.

After the September meeting we won’t meet again in person until March. We meet virtually in November and remember at our July board meeting we voted to stop meeting in January, so we all have time to get our taxes done!

Hope to see you then.

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
August, 2023

Effective August 25^th, 2023, Housing Providers with rental units inside the urban growth boundary of the City of Eugene are subject to new regulations. The updated code can be viewed at this link: https://coeapps.eugene-or.gov/cmoweblink/0/edoc/3651002/Ord.%2020694.pdf.

The new regulations encompass changes to allowable security deposits, screening processes, rent increases and tenancy termination and provide for relocation payments of two months’ periodic rent if you terminate a tenancy without cause or for a Qualifying Landlord Reason. It also extends the notice period for no-cause terminations from 30 to 90 days. 

Security Deposits
Eugene Housing Providers may charge a security deposit equal to no more than two months’ rent, with two exceptions. One exception is for Housing Providers who choose to rent to an applicant they could have denied due to risk factors identified in ORS 90.304, allowing Housing Providers to increase the security deposit to three months’ rent. You may also charge an additional deposit for an agreed-upon modification of the terms and conditions of the agreement for a pet or other cause if the additional security deposit relates to the modification. If you charge this additional amount for the reasons cited above, you must give the tenant up to three months to pay the increased deposit.

Take-Away: If you decide to take a chance on an unqualified applicant or if you agree to a material modification to their rental agreement, you may charge an additional security deposit equal to one months’ rent to address that change and/or mitigate your risk.

ORS 90.304 states that a Housing Provider can deny an application based on:

(a) Rental information, including:
(A) Negative or insufficient reports from references or other sources.
(B) An unacceptable or insufficient rental history, such as the lack of a reference from a prior landlord.
(C) A prior action for possession under ORS 105.105 to 105.168 that resulted in a general judgment for the plaintiff or an action for possession that has not yet resulted in dismissal or general judgment.
(D) Inability to verify information regarding a rental history.
(b) Criminal records, including:
(A) An unacceptable criminal history.
(B) Inability to verify information regarding criminal history.
(c) Financial information, including:
(A) Insufficient income.
(B) Negative information provided by a consumer credit reporting agency.(C) Inability to verify information regarding credit history.
(d) Failure to meet other written screening or admission criteria.
(e) The dwelling unit has already been rented.

Remember that under SB 282, evictions or money owed to a prior Housing Provider from a tenancy that terminated during the COVID-19 Protected Period (April 1, 2020 – February 28, 2022) cannot be considered when evaluating an applicant until after January 2, 2028. (SB 291)

Screening – First Come, First Served

If you publicly advertise a rental unit in Eugene, your ad must specify the date and time you will begin accepting applications and the dates of your “open application period.” Open application period is defined as “The period of time during which a landlord will accept rental housing applications for a publicly advertised dwelling unit.” You get to decide what period that is – 48 hours, 72 hours, one week?

You must also include information in the ad regarding an applicant’s right to request more time to ensure that they have “meaningful access” to compete for the dwelling unit. Meaningful access is defined as, “The ability of a person with limited English language proficiency to use or obtain language assistance services or resources to understand and communicate effectively, including but not limited to translation or interpretation services.” If a limited-English proficiency applicant requests additional time and if they submit their completed application within 24 hours of their request, the date and time of the request will serve as the date and time of receipt of the application for determining the order in which applications are received.

Here’s one possible statement to consider including: “Applications will be accepted between September 2 - 5, 2023. If you are an applicant with limited English proficiency, you are entitled to submit a request for an additional 24 hours to provide you with more time to seek language assistance services for the purpose of complying with the Housing Provider’s screening and application requirements.”

Under state law, if you assess an applicant screening charge, you are required to notify the applicant of their position in line, but not required to if you don’t charge screening fees. However, the Eugene Code requires that regardless of whether you assess a charge for screening, you must provide that information if the applicant requests it. Also, regardless of whether you assess an applicant screening charge, you must digitally or manually record the date and time of receipt of each application received during the open application period and while you may simultaneously screen multiple applications. You must accept, conditionally accept, or deny applications in the order of receipt.

You are required to offer the unit to the first qualified applicant who applies in the order indicated above, and if that applicant does not accept the offer to rent within 48 hours of the time the offer is made, you may move on to the next applicant. If a prospective renter applies prior to the open application period, their application is considered received eight hours after the start of that open application period.

What does it mean to accept an offer to rent? The ordinance does not say, but to my mind, accepting an offer to rent would mean either the Resident pays all funds due and takes possession of the dwelling unit if it’s move-in ready, or paying a deposit-to-hold and signing the Deposit-to-Hold Agreement if it’s not, thereby obligating themselves to rent at some point in the future. In any event, you must provide 48 hours for them to accept or decline your offer before moving on.

You may refuse to process applications under the following conditions:

1.     The application is materially incomplete.
2.     The application has been submitted by an applicant who has violated a rental agreement with the Housing Provider three or more times during the 12-month period preceding the date of the application, and the Housing Provider can provide documentation of the violations.

The following are exempt from the new rules about screening under the Eugene Rental Housing Code:

1.     Affordable housing providers (Typically, agencies who provide HUD-financed housing such as Homes for Good, ShelterCare, or St. Vinnie’s).
2.     A dwelling unit occupied by the Housing Provider as their principal residence.
3.     A unit of middle housing when the Housing Provider’s principal residence is another unit of middle housing on the same lot or parcel.
4.     An accessory dwelling unit located on the same lot or parcel as the Housing Provider’s principal residence.
5.     A dwelling unit that will be shared with an existing tenant who has a separate rental agreement for the dwelling unit (i.e., renting individual rooms).
6.      A dwelling unit not advertised to the general public.

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE – CITY & STATE
Eugene Code Relocation Assistance

On or after August 25, 2023, you must provide a minimum of 90 days’ written notice to terminate tenancy for no cause or for lease non-renewal given in the first year. The termination notice must include information about the amount of relocation assistance for which the Resident is eligible with a description of their rights and obligations.

Unless you are exempt, you must pay the Resident two month’s periodic rent if you terminate the tenancy for no cause in the first year, or for a Qualifying Landlord Reason at any time, and the relocation assistance must be paid within 45 days of delivery of the termination notice. If the Resident remains in the dwelling unit after the date of termination without the Housing Provider’s permission, the Resident must immediately repay the relocation assistance.

A Resident who receives relocation assistance for a no-cause of Qualifying Landlord Reason termination of tenancy must, within 45 days of the date of receipt of the assistance, provide you with written notice of termination of the rental agreement and vacate the unit by or before that termination date or repay the relocation assistance.

The City of Eugene is creating the forms and the City Manager is developing rules to implement these new requirements. We are asking for and hope to get clarity on whether the information needs to be in the body of the notice itself or can be attached to the notice of termination.

State Relocation Assistance
You may also be required to pay a relocation assistance under state law if you hold an ownership interest in more than four residential rental units in Oregon and are serving notice of termination for a Qualifying Landlord Reason. If you are required to pay the state assistance of one month’s rent, that assistance must be provided with the notice, but you can reduce the amount you pay required by the City Code by the amount of the state assistance you paid with your notice. This results in two separate payments delivered at different times, with a right to recover only one of these if the Resident does not vacate.

Lease Renewal in the First Year
In a fixed-term lease with a specified ending date that falls within the first year of occupancy, unless exempt as outlined below, you must follow this process: 

1.     At least 90 days prior to the specified ending date of the fixed term, provide the Resident with a written statement informing them of their right to receive relocation assistance and the means for eligibility.
2.     For the Resident to be eligible to receive relocation assistance, the Resident must, at least 60 days prior to the specified ending date of the fixed term provide you with written notice of their desire to renew the fixed term agreement.
3.     Within 30 days of the written notice from the Resident, you must either:

(1) Provide the Resident with written notice that you are declining to renew the lease and pay the Resident two month’s rent as a relocation assistance or;
(2) Provide the Resident with written notice that you agree to renew the lease. There is no specified term stated for length of lease renewal, but the lease renewal terms may not be a “substantial change” from the existing terms.
a. Substantial change means:  A change of terms from those included in a prior rental agreement between a Housing Provider and Resident that substantially disadvantages the Resident, and the Housing Provider does not provide for a commensurate decrease in rent. Examples of substantial changes to a rental agreement include but are not limited to: Resident responsibility for payment of utilities previously included in the monthly rent; Resident responsibility for payment for a parking spot previously included in the monthly rent; Housing Provider no longer allowing pets to occupy the dwelling unit; reduction of space available for Resident use; reduction of amenities available for Resident use; and removal of furnishings from furnished units.

4.     A Resident who has received relocation assistance and either agrees to the Housing Provider’s conditions of renewal or remains in the dwelling unit after you decline to renew, must immediately repay the relocation assistance.

Rent increases
Unless a Housing Provider is exempt as outlined below, you are subject to payment of relocation assistance if you increase the Resident’s rent by the maximum allowable percentage in a specific year.  When raising rent, the 90-day notice must state the amount of the new rent, the dollar amount by which 

the rent will increase, the percentage of the increase, and the date the increase will be effective. The notice must also specify the amount of relocation assistance for which the Resident is eligible and include a description of the Resident’s rights and obligations.

A Resident who receives notice of rent increase for the maximum allowable amount may, within 30 days of the date of the notice, request in writing for the Housing Provider to pay relocation assistance. If the Resident fails to request it within that timeframe, they are not eligible for assistance, may not request payment, and the rent increase amount will stand. If the Resident requests relocation assistance within the 30-day period, the Housing Provider must pay the Resident the required assistance of two-month’s rent at least 45 days prior to the date of the rent increase.

A Resident who receives relocation assistance for a maximum rent increase, must within 45 days of the date of receipt of the assistance, either: (1) provide you with written notice of termination of the rental agreement and vacate the unit; or (2) repay the relocation assistance and remain in the unit, subject to the increased rent.

Take Away: If you don’t intend to raise rent to the maximum, you don’t have to provide the information on relocation assistance. To avoid that payment, stay below the rent cap.

Please note that while under state law, properties built within the past 15 years are exempt from the rent cap, though properties subject to the Eugene Code are not exempt for that reason.

Relocation assistance exemptions

1.     Week-to-week tenancies.
2.     Occupancy in the same dwelling unit where the Housing Provider has occupied the unit as their primary residence for at least six months prior to service of notice to terminate.
3.     Residents that occupy one unit of middle housing where the Housing Provider’s primary residence is another unit of middle housing on the same lot or parcel and the Housing Provider has occupied the unit as their primary residence for at least six months prior to service of notice to terminate.
4.     Residents that occupy an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and the Housing Provider’s primary residence is on the same lot or parcel and the Housing Provider has occupied the unit as their primary residence for at least six months prior to service of notice to terminate.
5.     Housing Providers who temporarily rent out their primary residence during their absence of not more than three (3) years and the Housing Provider returns and reoccupies the unit as their primary residence within that time.
6.     Housing Providers who temporarily rent out their primary residence due to deployment in the armed forces and the Housing Provider returns and reoccupies the unit as their primary residence.
7.     Units of affordable housing.
8.     A dwelling unit that is subject to and in compliance with the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.
9.     A dwelling unit rendered immediately uninhabitable not due to the action or inaction of a Housing Provider or Resident.
10.     A dwelling unit rented for less than six (6) months where the Housing Provider will be demolishing the unit and has provided the Resident with verification of submission of a demolition permit prior to the execution of the rental agreement.
11.     A unit rented under a fixed-term lease where the Housing Provider’s intent is to sell or permanently convert the dwelling unit to a use other than as a dwelling unit and is a term of the executed rental agreement.
12.     And one final exemption for units where the tenancy was initiated prior to August 25, 2023, but only for specific types of tenancies. Check out Section 7 of the ordinance to see if you qualify.

Qualification exemption process

1.     For exemptions claimed under 1, 5, 6, 7, 10 & 11 above, no later than the time of execution of the rental agreement, you must provide each Resident who is a party to the rental agreement with written notice that the tenancy is exempt from relocation assistance.
2.     For exemptions claimed under 2, 3 & 4 above, where the Housing Provider is living in the dwelling unit or on the same lot or parcel of land at the time of execution of the rental agreement, no later than the time of execution of the rental agreement you must provide each Resident with written notice that the tenancy is exempt from relocation assistance.
3.     For exemptions claimed under 2, 3 & 4, if you move into the dwelling unit or onto the lot or parcel during the term of the rental agreement, within 30 days of occupancy, you must provide each Resident with written notice that the tenancy will be exempt from relocation assistance once you have occupied the unit as your principal residence for at least six months. The notice requirement applies to you if you move into the unit or onto the lot or parcel on or after September 1, 2023.
4.     For exemption 12, under Section 7 of the ordinance where the rental agreement was executed prior to August 25, 2023, under very limited types of tenancies, you must provide the written notification to the Resident within 30 days of August 25^th.
5.     Except for affordable housing providers, who are not required to file exemptions, within 30 days of the date you provide the Resident with the notice of exemption you must submit to the City a notice of relocation assistance exemption.

Relocation Assistance Reporting
Unless you are exempt from payment of relocation assistance, you must report your relocation assistance payment to the City within 60 days of paying the Resident. The City is currently working on a form for this.

Termination of Tenancy Reporting to the City
You must report all termination notices to the City that result in a termination of tenancy within 30 days of the notice, except for week-to-week tenancies. So, I think that means any notice from you to them where the Resident vacates the unit in response to the notice or by legal eviction, except when you terminate week-to-week tenancies. Your report to the City must include a copy of the termination notice served. The City has created an online form. If you are unable to access the form through the ERHC website, Housing Navigator Amy Cameron said to come in to the office during business hours and staff can assist. The code office is located at 99 W. 10^th Avenue, Eugene, OR  97401 - 541-682-5383.

A Resident who gives notice to vacate and moves out or otherwise abandons the unit when the Housing Provider has not served a termination notice is not a reportable event.

The Code has also been expanded to include the changes listed above in the processing complaints and created a painful financial penalty for Housing Providers who fail to comply.

Penalties
A Housing Provider that violates the relocation assistance provisions for rent increases and terminations is liable to an individual eligible for relocation assistance in an amount equal to three months’ rent as well as actual damages, relocation assistance, and reasonable attorney assistance and costs. That means that any Resident (not just household of residents as a group) claiming to be aggrieved by a Housing Provider’s violation has an individual cause for action in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages and any other remedies as may be appropriate under law.

Take Away: There’s a lot of steps to do just right and big-time monetary penalties if you don’t. Get professional advice so you don’t stumble…

Forms
The City is preparing to launch the following forms:

1.     Tenant notice of rights and obligations for relocation assistance.
2.     Landlord relocation assistance exemption reporting to the City.
3.     Housing Provider termination/eviction reporting to the City.
4.     Housing Provider relocation assistance payment reporting to the City.

We are evaluating our forms to see what changes we may need to make and are working on a Landlord Exemption Notification form and a modification of form O3, Notice of Lease Renewal to provide the 90-day notice in a first-year lease with a specified ending date that falls within the year. Call the Helpline or an attorney for guidance in the meantime.

The good news
None of these restrictions apply to for-cause notices.

I’ve been saying for years, we’re all going to have to get good at holding residents accountable for their misbehavior because the easy route of no-cause notices will likely continue to become more restrictive. That means no more lazy-landlording. You must inspect; you must act on breach of contract; you must avoid waiver; you must learn how to prepare and serve legal notices; and you must stop renting to people because you feel sorry for them or are trying to be nice. Remember, No good deed goes unpunished. This is a business, tighten up your standards people and remember: even with all the increasing regulatory load we’re experiencing, if you have a good property and good people in that property, rental property ownership is still one of the best ways to build financial stability and generational wealth over time. So, stop whining and start learning!

This column offers general suggestions only and is no substitute for professional legal counsel. Please consult an attorney for advice related to your specific situation.

Rev 8/2023

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
August 2023

Delegates and committee chairs had a great time and accomplished much at our July meeting at the Oregon Gardens Resort in Silverton. As usual, the food was great and the setting lovely. New board secretary Chuck DeSeranno and I met with Technology Chair Cloud Miller Sunday morning to get some one-on-one training and it was very helpful. We are looking to continue with this model and between Cloud, Ben and other leaders provide extra help to whoever needs it before we head home.

At the July meeting, the board voted to stop meeting in January. We can always call a special meeting if something important comes up, but generally at that time of year there’s not a lot going on in our industry, but lots going on with year-end work on taxes and such, so it seemed like the one to remove! As usual, our November meeting will be virtual.

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 15th and 16th at the Doubletree hotel in Bend. Friday, in addition to committee meetings, ORHA hosts the Annual Leadership Dinner beginning at 6 p.m. where chapter presidents, committee chairs and the Executive Committee meet, have a lovely meal (no host bar, but we do cover the food!), and share updates. Check out Office Manager Ben Seamans’ Office Report for details on registering and making your hotel reservation. Bend is one of our most fun meetings of the year.

While we’re in the area, we’re excited to have Ben do some training with the team at Sunriver Computer Services. As he is taking over more responsibilities related to forms, the forms manual, and the law book, we could really cut our costs significantly. We’re always looking for better, more efficient ways to provide resources to our members and Ben’s technological skills are really helping in that effort.

With the long legislative session over, we are scrambling to update our forms and educate our members on the impact of the law changes. Thankfully, except for HB 2001 which changed how we must deal with nonpayment, and SB 611 that changed how we can increase rent, the rest of the changes don’t take effect until January 1, 2024. Nice to have some breathing room.

Have a great rest of your summer and I hope to see you delegates in Bend next month!

By: Cloud Miller, Technology Committee Chair
July 2023

The ORHA Forms Store has some noticeable changes that you should be aware of:

1. ORHA Support Tickets on the ORHA Forms Store website:

ORHA has implemented a new trackable support ticket on the ORHA Forms Store so that customers can list problems experienced with purchasing forms and retrieving forms or you can submit changes you would like to see on the Forms Store. It’s located at the bottom of the webpage.  For more details, read the Office update by Benjamyn Seamans in this month’s newsletter.

2. New Tenant Move-In Package:

An easy and quick way to complete your new Rental Agreements.  It used to take me about an hour to complete a new Rental Agreement and all the addendums.  Now, I can complete an entire move-in package in about ten minutes.

Just select a Rental Agreement of your choice, Month-to-Month, Fixed Term Lease, Week-to-Week. Then select all the addendums that pertain to your property. Once you select the appropriate forms, then complete the information on the rental agreement, and the information is copied to all the addendums for you. Some forms will need you to update particulars, like how short you would like the grass or the pet information, etc. Either way, the package walks you through each form and the selections that you need to complete. Once you complete the package, then you can purchase the entire package at one time. Try it and let us know what you think using the ORHA Support Ticket or by emailing us at Technology@OregonRentalHousing.com.

3. ORHA Forms Store Forms, Price Changes Effective July 01, 2023:

a. Applications – No change, same price $6.99 for non-members and $2.99 for members.|
b. Rental Agreements – Fixed Term, Month-to-Month, and Week-to-Week are now $8.99 for non-members and $6.99 for members.
c. Addendums and Notices – Now $7.99 for non-members and $3.99 for members.

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
July 2023

2023-2025 Executive Committee Officers, Advisors, and Committee Chairs
This month marks our officer transition. At our March board meeting, ORHA officers were voted in for a two-year term beginning this month. I will continue for one more two-year term as President, Cloud Miller will serve as Vice President, Lance Lesueur as Treasurer, and Chuck DeSeranno as board Secretary. Legislative Director Jason Miller is filling the role of Past President, and both Dennis Chappa and Violet Wilson have agreed to stay on the committee as advisors; their extensive history with ORHA is invaluable. Maria Menguita will serve as an advisor on an as-needed basis; her marketing and social media expertise is helpful during our planning meetings.

Thanks so much to Dennis and Violet for stepping up to fill in as Treasurer and Secretary when the elected officers were unable to fulfill their terms. And a special shout out to Vice President Ben Seamans, who is closing out almost two terms as Vice President (VP). When President Jason Miller had to step back in 2018 and his VP Sage Coleman had to pick up the leadership role, Ben stepped in to be Sage’s VP. After Sage was elected to continue to serve as President for the 2019-2021 term, he went through some personal turmoil in his life, and Ben stepped up and led our group for at least six months in admirable fashion. He has been a great support to me over these past two years. Thank you so much Ben for all you’ve done to keep us moving forward despite the many challenges we’ve faced.

Thank you to Jill Maricich who served two terms on the Executive Committee, first as Treasurer, then as an area representative. Due to a change last year that created four regions out of formerly five, all areas of the state are fully represented for the 2023-2025 term, and we don’t need area reps to fill in. Sometimes a particular region of Oregon will be overrepresented in the EC and one or more regions underrepresented. When that happens, each unrepresented region puts forth a candidate to serve as a voting member of the EC to ensure that all areas of our state have an equal voice in how our association is run.

Some committee chairs are remaining in their positions and others are being handed off to new leadership.

• Education/Mentoring Committee – Violet Wilson, will continue as Committee Chair.
• Finance Committee – Former Treasurer, Dennis Chappa, will lead the Finance Committee.
• Forms Committee – I will continue to serve as Forms Committee Chair.
• Legislative Committee – Legislative Director Jason Miller with the assistance of Deputy Legislative Director Ben Seamans, will continue to lead this committee as well as our Rapid Response subcommittee.
• Long-Range Planning Committee – This committee has been on hiatus as we dealt with and continue to deal with creating a stable foundation for ORHA. See my State of the Association report later in this newsletter for updates on our progress. We hope to soon start looking ahead instead of constantly putting out fires.
• Membership/Dues Committee – Jason Miller has agreed to continue to lead this committee.
• Newsletter Committee – We don’t really have a committee anymore as Office Manager, Ben Seamans, has taken over. So, he’s our unofficial Chair!
• Survey Committee – Alex Wilkens took the reins of what was a nonfunctioning committee and under his leadership, the team completed three quarterly surveys of our members. Alex will continue to serve on the committee but is handing over the leadership role to Jason Brush.
• Technology Committee – Cloud Miller continues to give his life to leading ORHA to new heights in our ability to provide a top-quality forms store and utilize technology to help our leadership team, our delegates, our county chapters, and our members.
• Website/Social Media Committee – I am grateful that Maria Menguita will continue to lead this committee. Her expertise in this arena is a perfect fit to help ORHA continue its social media outreach.

Oregon Gardens in July
I hope to see all our ORHA delegates at our July meeting at the beautiful Oregon Gardens Resort in Silverton, July 14-16. We had the best time last year at their venue. The food Is fantastic (best hotel breakfast ever), and I don’t know what “triple sheeting” is, but the beds were the best! A few of us took time to tour the Oregon Gardens and what a special place it is.

This month our Friday no-host Delegates Dinner will be held at People’s Taphouse Pizza, 100 S Water St, Silverton, beginning at 5:00 p.m. July 14^th. Please let me know if you’ll be coming with as much notice as you can, and if you don’t, show up anyway! We’d love to eat, drink, and make merry with you. Relationship building is important stuff

We will also be hosting a training session Sunday morning for those who can stay over Saturday night or log on virtually to participate. Ben and Cloud will be training us on using Microsoft Teams to put on webinars or create videos. Because we only meet in person four times a year, we feel it is important to use the time to its fullest where we can connect, train, and move ORHA and our local chapters forward to new heights.

By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
July 2023

How far we’ve come
Hard to believe that two years ago, without warning, we lost our office manager. She just stopped showing up to work and stopped communicating. Tough way to start my term. At the July 2021 meeting, the Executive Committee was given emergency powers until the September meeting to take care of business.

Once we realized she wasn’t coming back, I called an emergency meeting at the end of July to terminate her employment. I wasn’t sure I’d even get a quorum for a last-minute meeting call on a Saturday. To my surprise, almost every chapter had a delegate show up to vote. And that’s been the way it’s gone ever since. Every decision, every pivot we were forced to make, I had incredible support from our officers and delegates.

We had to forcibly take over our bank account authorizations, change our Secretary of State information, find account numbers and passwords, pay bills, set up board meeting venues and menus, get back in control of our email accounts and Quickbooks, it was a mess. With no employee, the board decided we could operate with independent contractors and close our physical office. Cloud Miller and his dad, Ray, drove out from Ontario to Keizer to help. Dennis Chappa, and Jill Maricich also came to help pack up and clean out the office. Change came fast and furious after that.

Cloud was able to break into the office computer and start closing our accounts, getting the info we needed. He stepped up mightily and took over most of the basic office functions serving our chapters. Then in January 2021, Ben Seamans stepped in to take over many of the office functions. Cloud spent many hours training Ben so he could get back to focusing on ORHA’s technology needs.

I boxed and hauled the paper forms back to my office and began ordering and shipping forms to the chapters for several months until we signed on with a drop-ship printer to handle that part of the business. That had its own set of issues with quality, timeliness of shipping, accuracy of orders, ugh. We stuck with it and eventually got things dialed in but resulted in frustration for our chapters and their members.

Kathleen Ashley of Salem RHA stepped up to check our mailbox in Keizer and forward info to the office and accounting staff and make bank deposits.

We hired a bookkeeper, Lori Black, to handle our finances, and under the leadership of Dennis Chappa, created a functioning Finance Committee that is not chaired by the Treasurer to avoid any appearance of shenanigans. Ben Seamans created a reimbursement form and set up a multi-person expense reimbursement approval process. The office no longer pays directly for reimbursements but requires everyone to pay for reimbursable expenses themselves, then submit a request for reimbursement through a system that requires multiple approvals.

With COVID forcing us for the most part to online meetings, the Executive Committee decided we should meet virtually for our November and January meetings to save money and avoid travel during the fall and winter months for safety reasons. We now only meet in-person four times a year.

With no office rent, no landline phone, no internet, no UPS pickups, or drop-offs to pay for, no employment taxes or reports to file, and reducing in-person meetings to four times per year, our financial position has gradually stabilized and for the first time in a while, we have sufficient reserves.

Board Meetings
There is a lot involved in setting up our in-person meetings as I discovered when I had to take the reins for our September 2021 meeting that included the Leadership Dinner. Last year, we were too late to meet where we normally do, which created some hassles reserving another venue. Now, we have settled on two recurring venues for our July and September meetings, so the planning part is reduced.

Unless something dramatic happens, we will always hold our July meeting at the Oregon Gardens Resort in Silverton and our September meeting at the Doubletree in Bend, which is where we host the Leadership Dinner Friday evening before the Board Meeting. This is a chance for officers, presidents, and committee chairs to socialize, have a nice meal and hear updates from the office and the committees. We are heading to southern Oregon each March, and May will continue to be our Far-Flung month where we visit a smaller chapter and hold our Property Management Palooza. We have completed two successful seminars and look forward to more.

November and January we meet online using Teams, and every delegate has the option to participate in any board meeting virtually.

Our meeting agenda is planned by the Executive Committee based on the usual committee reports but including special projects such as the reformulation of our regions, forms store issues, or the needs of specific committees to carve out more time occasionally. We’re stricter about staying on track, if you haven’t submitted an agenda item in advance, it may get tabled if we run out of time. All our meetings are now recorded through Microsoft Teams.

Education/Mentoring
Chair Violet Wilson continues to add classes to ORHA’s portfolio of educational offerings and has done a fantastic job of teaching for the chapters who qualify for mentoring services. Last year we lost one of our chapters, Mid-Columbia, after the President, John Frederick died. Nathan Haworth tried valiantly to keep the chapter going but became overwhelmed with his own business plus taking over John’s and couldn’t do it alone. In late May, we heard from the folks at John L. Scott, Todd Fiebig and Tanya Dean, who wanted to see the chapter come back and agreed to provide leadership. We’ve met a few times and are excited to announce that the chapter is back on board!

Ben Seamans has resigned as secretary for the committee and Joanne Williams with ROADC has volunteered to take over the position – Thank you, Joanne!

Forms Development
The Forms Committee developed new forms, updated existing forms and during that time produced our new 2022-2023 ORHA Forms Manual.

Insurance
Lance Lesueur reviewed our insurance policies and with his guidance we are properly insured. We were over- and under-insured in some areas. What a great asset he has been to help us understand the inner workings of insurance and make recommendations that are cost effective and protective of our association.

Membership Reporting
We’ve asked the chapters to pivot to a new electronic membership reporting process and send their membership dues directly to the bookkeeper eliminating the need for mailing paper forms. With the new process Ben created, it takes an average of 8-10 minutes. This year we started enforcing the deadlines in our bylaws, including the charging of late fees if reports are not filed in a timely manner. With these changes, we’ve seen phenomenal results and we no longer have any associations with delinquencies.

Newsletters
Beginning in September of 2021, we brought Social Media Chair Maria Menguita back on board to start producing newsletters again. Then when Ben stepped up to work as our contracted office manager, he was able to take over that function along with many others. We’re back to 11 newsletters per year except for December.

Other Office Functions
Even without an office, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Scheduling meetings, addressing chapter needs, preparing agendas, addressing issues with forms, correspondence, interfacing with vendors, calculating revenue sharing, routing invoices, and responding to ORHA member support tickets.

Ben has done a fantastic job of putting together our agenda and meeting packets, setting up training for individual chapters, responding to inquiries, and keeping track of everything. For years, Cloud had tried to work with staff to bring ORHA into the new technological age. With Ben on board, the two of them have taken us to new heights. Everything we do has been made more efficient and cost-effective. Every new process, every new procedure, provides increased efficiency and the stable foundation we need to move forward in a positive way.

Cloud and Ben convinced the board we should switch from Google to Microsoft Teams for our emails, meetings, videos, webinars, and so much more. They created dedicated emails for each officer and committee chair as well as group committee emails and they continue to update those as positions change.

Each officer, committee and chapter now have their own email address, and the local associations have access to Teams included with membership. This allows for full use of the platform for meetings, videos, and webinars. Training is happening on a regular basis, and we have new training ideas in the works. Our plan is to add a Sunday morning training event at each in-person board meeting to help our chapters maximize the use of technology. We will offer this and other important training for about an hour on Sunday mornings before we head home. For those who can’t stay, virtual participation will always be an option.

Revenue Sharing
We were finally able to distribute profit sharing funds from the ORHA Forms Store and anticipate regular revenue sharing moving forward.

Where do we go from here? In addition to continuing our efforts in education/mentoring, lobbying and legislative work, adding or updating forms as needed in response to new legislation, and quarterly member surveys, we plan to offer:

1. Continued improvements to efficiencies across the association.
2. Forms packages on the Forms Store that will allow users to enter tenant information once for the rental agreement and auto-populate the addenda you choose.
3. New 2024 Law Book.
4. New 2024-2025 Forms Manual.
5. Providing both manuals in electronic formats.
6. Chapter training in Teams.
7. Finish second round of bylaws updates.

Back in July of 2021, I was shocked and stressed about the changes, wondering how we could survive much less thrive, but looking back it was the best thing that could have happened. Problems became opportunities and opportunities brought positive change.

Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." Here’s to continuing to work together to help the rental owners in Oregon keep up with legislative and regulatory changes, use proper legal forms, develop relationships, and advocate for removing barriers to rental housing ownership and management. With your support, I look forward to what the next two years will bring.