STATEMENT: State's 10% Limit on Rent Increases Needed, But Still Unaffordable

The state has announced a 10% limit on rent increases for this year. This continues the cap that was in place throughout 2024, thanks to efforts of Community Alliance of Tenants, and our coalition partners at Stable Homes for Oregon Families following allowable increases of 14.6% under the previous rent stabilization law.  

Unfortunately, 10% annual increases remain unaffordable for most working people. With costs out of control from the grocery store, to childcare, to the gas pump it should not feel like a luxury to maintain stable housing. 

Nonetheless, this limit comes as a much needed safeguard - current estimates show that without the 10% ceiling, tenants would have experienced hikes as high as 12.3%, equating in tens of thousands of dollars more for Oregonians to be shelling out to remain in their homes each year.

Loopholes remain. The current limit only applies to units that are more than 15-years-old. That means huge swaths of Oregonians continue to be vulnerable to unlimited, predatory hikes year-after-year. This must stop.

The reason Oregon continues to lead the nation in high-rent homelessness is unchecked corporate greed that continues to treat housing as a commodity. We lead the country in cost-burdened renters, and simultaneously lead the nation in unsheltered homelessness - the correlation is clear to see. 

Our state is in a housing crisis. We all deserve a safe and affordable place to call home. Reasonable rent increases are one effective way to stabilize all Oregonians.