Good afternoon, all. This week I am back in the office after taking some time to recover from a cornea transplant. My eyes are still pretty sensitive to the light, but it was great to see the sun rise over Grand Rapids this morning.
Rent Control as a way of Combating Affordable Housing Crisis?
Today I saw a headline from the Rental Property Owners Association – check it out here RPOA reports:
“During the last week of February, Oregon became the first U.S. state to pass comprehensive statewide rent-control legislation which aims to be the latest solution to an affordable housing crisis already exacerbated by previous regulatory burdens such as urban growth boundaries and overly restrictive zoning.“
Real Estate Investing Today reports on the story in more detail. According to Oregon’s Governor:
“this legislation will provide some immediate relief to Oregonians struggling to keep up with rising rents and a tight rental market.”
However, according to Real Estate Investing Today, “Oregon House Republicans had a far more realistic take on the new law:”
“Passage of this bill also raises a more serious question: If a property owner can’t decide who lives in their apartments and houses, who really owns the property? Certainly, it is no longer the one who pays the property taxes.”
Michigan’s Affordable Housing Crisis
It seems pretty evident to me that Oregon’s passage of the Rent Control Bill was in response to an Affordable Housing Crisis that we have been experiencing across the U.S.
In fact, two years ago a Rent Control Bill was proposed in the Michigan House of Representatives- you can check out my post on that here
That Bill made no traction. It died in the Local Government Committee.
The Bill was presumably a response to Michigan’s Affordable Housing Crisis.
It has been several yeas since the Grand Rapids Chamber hosted an Issue Summit on the Housing Crisis in Grand Rapids.
The Summit brought speakers representing many community stakeholders, including representatives from Grand Rapids Urban League,Rockford Construction, ICCF, MSHDA, and many local non-profits, including Mel Trotter Ministries, HQ, Heartside Ministries, on the lack of affordable housing, what is as Mayor Bliss emphasized, admittedly, “a complex issue”.
I have previously offered my own perspective, both as a lawyer representing real estate developers/investors, and as Board Chairman at Mel Trotter Ministries.
Private and Public Community Stakeholders Doing Their Part
A few years have gone by since Kent County was first acknowledged to have an affordable housing crisis. The crisis is still present. There many community stakeholders that are actively playing a role in being part of the solution: providing housing for the most vulnerable. I think of a company like Urbaneer and Bruce Thompson and applaud Bruce for his work. We need more companies like Urbaneer – providing innovative solutions to a housing crisis.
I also think of the non-profit sector – organizations like ICCF and Mel Trotter Ministries finding unique ways through social enterprise to house the most vulnerable.
Kent County has provided several unique tools, including the Eviction Prevention Program.
I don’t think rent control is the answer.
I believe we all have a role to play.
We should all ask ourselves: Am I working to build a better community?
E-mail: Jeshua@dwlawpc.com
Twitter: @JeshuaTLauka
Purpose Driven General Counsel 
One thought on “Rent Control is now a Law in Oregon – But is it a Proper Response to an Affordable Housing Crisis?”