February 2020
A monthly newsletter published by the Rental Housing Alliance Oregon
rha est. 1927
www.rhaoregon.org
In this issue:
RHA Calendar of Events .................................... page 2 President’s Message ..... page 3 Tax Time................................ page 4 Dear Maintenance Men................. .....................................................page 5 New Year, New Laws........page 6 2020 Education Calendar.................................page 7 Portland Homeless Family Solutions................................page 8 F.A.I.R Access in Renting..................................page 10
February Dinner Meeting
Where:Ernesto's Italian Restaurant When:Wednesday February 19, 2020 Price: $35.00 per person if registered by end
of business February 14, 2020. $45.00 per person if registered after end of business February 14, 2020
March 1, 2020. This includes the rules pertaining to rental housing advertising, application and screening, security deposits, modification or accommodation, rental history and depreciation schedules. This class is a must if you own rental property in the City of Portland.
Menu: Buffet
Location: 8544 SW Apple Way
Appetizer: Bruschetta Caesar Salad Sauteed Vegetables Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Fettucine Alfredo Meatballs Chicken Cordon Blue
Portland, OR. 97225
Speaker: Charles Kovas, attorney at law, will provide a short overview of the City of Portland’s Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) administrative rules that go into effect
To register or for more information including cancellation policy visit https://rhaoregon.org/event/february-2020-dinner/ DATE
EVENT
LOCATION
TIME
02/12
Board Meeting
RHA Conference Annex
4:00pm
02/19
Dinner Meeting
Ernesto’s
6:00pm
02/27
Mentor Round Table
RHA Conference Annex
6:00pm
03/11
Board Meeting
RHA Conference Annex
4:00pm
03/18
Dinner Meeting
TBA
6:00pm
03/21
Mentor Round Table
RHA Conference Annex
11:00am
INFORMATION
DATE
CLASSES
LOCATION
TIME
INSTRUCTORS
02/04
Online Tenant Screening Class
RHA Conference Annex
11:00am
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
02/06
How to use Landlord-Reference.com
Join.me
7:00pm
Robert Collier w/ Landlord-Refererence
02/07
Online Tenant Screening Class
WebEX
7:00pm
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
02/11
How to use Landlord-Reference.com
Join.me
7:00pm
Robert Collier w/ Landlord-Reference
02/13
Fair Access in Renting-PDX Ordinance
RHA Conference Annex
6:30pm
Charles Kovas w/ Charles Kovas Law
02/18
How to use Landlord-Reference.com
Join.me
7:00pm
Robert Collier w/ Landlord-Reference.com
02/20
Insurance Class
RHA Conference Annex
11:30am
John Sage w/ Stegmann Agency Farmers Insurance
02/21
Online Tenant Screening Class
WebEX
11:00am
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
02/25
Termination Notices
RHA Conference Annex
6:30pm
Sam Johnson w/ Landlord Solutions
02/25
Online Tenant Screening Class
WebEX
7:00pm
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
02/26
How to use Landlord-Reference.com
Join.me
7:00pm
Robert Collier w/ Landlord-Reference.com
03/06
Online Tenant Screening Class
WebEX
7:00pm
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
03/10
Online Tenant Screening Class
RHA Conference Annex
11:00am
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
03/12
Tenant Screening Best Practices
RHA Conference Annex
6:30pm
Amber Clark w/ The Garcia Group
03/19
Tenant Screening Best Practices
RHA Conference Annex
11:30am
Amber Clark w/ The Garcia Group
03/20
Online Tenant Screening Class
WebEX
11:00am
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
03/24
Legislative Update
RHA Conference Annex
6:30pm
Charles Kovas w/ Charles Kovas Law
03/24
Online Tenant Screening Class
WebEX
7:00pm
Marcia Gohman w/ National Tenant Network
For additional class/event information visit: https://rhaoregon.org/education 2
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
www.rhaoregon.org
President’s Message Ken Schriver, RHA Oregon President
The last weekend of January I attended a leadership training course put on by the American Chemical Society, of which I am a long-time member. All the trainees were volunteers who serve the society in various capacities. One of the sessions I attended was “Engaging and Motivating Volunteers.” In that course, I gained several new insights into the process of involving volunteers to accomplish an organizations’ goals. One of the key takeaways for me was learning of the different ways that volunteers are motivated. Five motivating factors: social engagement, values affirmation, career advancement, gaining experience, and personal fulfillment, each have different weighting for different individuals. That weighting may change over time; a younger volunteer may be more driven by career advancement and gaining experience than a retiree. However, this is not always the case. Volunteer opportunities can be divided into two types: “Positional,” and “Project.” Examples of positional volunteer opportunities at RHA are officer, board, and committee chair positions. These positions are defined in our by-laws. Since December we have published a notice of proposed change to the by-laws that will allow us more flexibility in filling all the seats on our board. Please attend the February Dinner meeting and vote on this change! We had 15 active board members for most of 2019 and 17 board members going into 2020, of which four (the maximum allowed by the current bylaws) are affiliate members. Assuming the amendment passes, we expect to make three more appointments including one additional affiliate member. This will bring our board to the maximum size of 20, which will strengthen all aspects of our organization. Project opportunities differ from positional opportunities in that volunteers are assigned a specific task, usually shortterm. Rental Housing Alliance has many project opportunities such as “help set up for our Annual Picnic” or “send an e-mail to the City Council” or “help serve meals at Portland Family Homeless Solutions.” Keep an eye out for that last one – we will be scheduling a regular meal each month at PFHS in the Lents neighborhood. This is an opportunity for all Portland Landlords to contribute a small amount of time to an organization that assists some of our most vulnerable community members. RHA has a long history of volunteerism. We would not be as strong as we are without the thousands of hours of volunteer time contributed by our members. I have met many of you who have volunteered for positional opportunities like serving on the board, as well as project opportunities like teaching a class or setting up for our Starry Night fundraiser. Each year, the board of directors nominates one of our members for the Al Moulton & Sharon Fleming-Barrett Award, named after two past members who were devoted volunteers not only for RHA, but for the broader community as well. Although I never had the opportunity to meet Al or Sharon, I am thrilled that our organization recognized them for their volunteer efforts and continues to recognize an outstanding volunteer from within our membership. This award will be given at our February dinner meeting, so there is another great reason to attend! Our board members and committee chairs will be reaching out in the months ahead to ask for volunteers for several projects. I look forward to working alongside you in these endeavors! Ken Schriver RHA Oregon President
www.rhaoregon.org
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
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The Rental Housing Alliance Oregon is a 501(c)(6) corporation. As such, we are allowed to lobby to influence legislation. A portion of the annual dues are utilized for lobbying activities on behalf of our members. Your membership dues payments may be tax deductible as a necessary trade or business expense. The portion of your dues utilized for lobbying activities is not deductible.
Dues paid to the Rental Housing Alliance Oregon are not deductible as a charitable contribution but may be deductible as a business expense; however, the RHA Oregon estimates that 15.99% of the dues payment is not deductible as a business expense because of RHA Oregon’s lobbying activities on behalf of its members. The figure shown above represents the portion of your 2019 dues utilized for lobbying activities at both the state and local level.
Please consult with your tax advisor regarding the proper treatment of your dues for income tax purposes.
IMMEDIATE
RESPONSE Sean & Shelby Goforth 503-517-9027
junkawayhauling@gmail.com Your items picked up are recycled and/or donated Shelby Cell: 971.998.4654 Sean Cell: 971.808.6387 PORTLAND 4
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
VANCOUVER www.rhaoregon.org
Dear Maintenance Men by Jerry L’Ecuyer & Frank Alvarez
Dear Maintenance Men: A resident is complaining that their water heater is knocking and making rumbling noises. They are worried it might explode. What is the problem and how do I fix the rumbling issues. Jane
courtyard of my apartment building and I need some advice. Should I go with a wired system or a solar powered system? Chuck
Dear Chuck: Good question! Solar looks so attractive and it is very easy to install. You can’t get more plug and play than sticking the light fixture in the ground and waiting for the sun to charge up the light. Unfortunately, as great as solar seems, it does have some drawbacks. The light Dear Jane: produced can be dim and may not last the whole night. First, the water heater will not explode, however, it could The fixture must be in direct sunlight to recharge. If you leak if this issue is left unchecked. Sediment collects in want to use it to simply mark a path; it will do a good job, the bottom of the tank and traps water under layers of but if you want it to light up the path, it does not have the minerals such as calcium & lime. When the burner enough power. In order to light up a path or area, a wired heats the water; the trapped water boils and bubbles up low voltage system is best. You will need to determine causing the rumbling or knocking noise. The solution is how many lights you will use and the wattage of the bulbs to flush the water heater of any accumulated sediment. in each fixture. The wattage information will help you (We will assume the tank in question is not a commercial determine what size transformer and wire to use. Light unit with a clean out port.) bulbs range in wattage from 4 watts to 50 watts. Do not Flushing procedure: exceed the bulb wattage as dictated by the transformer. 1: Turn off the gas or breaker to the heater. As an example: a 300-watt transformer will support 2: Turn off the water supply above the tank. twelve 25-watt light fixtures or thirty 10-watt fixtures. 3: Connect a hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the Transformers range from 88 watts, 100 watts, 200 watts tank so the water can drain away from the heater. (Leave and 300 watts. There are transformers that list their this valve closed for the moment.) wattage as high as 600 watts and 900 watts. Typically the 4: Open a hot water valve in the unit such as a shower 600 & 900-watt transformers allow the use of multiple valve or kitchen faucet. cables from one transformer. As far as what gauge wire 5: Open the valve at the bottom of the tank to let the water to use, again wattage will determine the wire size. For drain through the hose. Caution: This water will be hot. Example: max 150-watts, use 16 gauge wire, 200-watts, 6: Allow the tank to drain completely. use 14 gauge wire, 300-watts, use 12 gauge wire. Keeping 7: Once the tank is empty; open and close the cold water the above numbers in mind; using LED landscape valve above the water heater. This will help flush any relighting will dramatically change the amount of maining sediment from the tank. Do this until the water transformer power you will need. We highly recommend runs clear out of the hose connected to the heater drain using LED fixtures in your landscape lighting designs. valve. 8: Close the drain valve and disconnect the hose from the Dear Maintenance Men: bottom of the tank. I’m planning to rehab all the upstairs bathrooms in my 9: Open the cold water valve above the water heater to fill apartment building. This is starting to be expensive and the tank. in order to save money, I am thinking of using heavy-duty 10: When water starts coming out of the shower or shower curtains instead of the more expensive sliding shower kitchen valves, the tank is full. Turn off the shower and doors. What do you think of this idea? Shelly, kitchen valves. Leave the cold water valve above the water heater open. Dear Shelly: 11: Re-light the gas burner pilot and turn on the burner We highly recommend that you try to save money or switch on the breaker for an electric heater. elsewhere and install the more expensive sliding shower This procedure should be part of your preventive doors. In the long run this will save you more money in maintenance routine and done once a year, every year. the form of avoiding water damage to the flooring, walls, and in the ceilings of the unit below. Not to mention Dear Maintenance Men: possible rot of structural members and floor joists below I want to install some low voltage landscape lighting in the the tub. Shower curtains invite water damage, because it www.rhaoregon.org
(continued on page 6) 5
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
Maintenance Men Cont. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
is so easy for water to escape onto the floors and beyond. A little water can do a lot of damage. Water Trivia: About 1,460 teratonnes (Tt) of water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, mostly in oceans and other large water bodies. The above number pales in comparison with the perceived amount of water a clogged toilet will allow to flow over the rim after flushing and before you can turn off the water valve under the toilet…. WE NEED Maintenance Questions!!! If you would like to see your maintenance question in the “Dear Maintenance Men:” column, please send in your questions to: DearMaintenanceMen@gmail.com Bio: If you need maintenance work or consultation for your building or project, please feel free to contact us. We are available throughout Southern California. For an appointment please call Buffalo Maintenance, Inc. at 714 956-8371 Frank Alvarez is licensed contractor and the Operations Director and co-owner of Buffalo Maintenance, Inc. He has been involved with apartment maintenance & construction for over 20 years. He is also a lecturer & educational instructor and Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the Apartment Association of Orange County as well as being Chairman of the Product Service Counsel. Frank can be reached at (714) 956-8371 Frankie@BuffaloMaintenance.com For more info please go to: www.BuffaloMaintenance.com. Jerry L’Ecuyer is a real estate broker. He is currently a Director Emeritus and Past President of the Apartment Association of Orange County and past Chairman of the association’s Education Committee. Jerry has been involved with apartments as a professional since 1988.
New Year, New Laws: A Brief Overview of the Newest Landlord/Tenant Legislation Bradley Kraus, Attorney with Warren Allen, LLP and the failure to include such a disclosure likely provides PERMISSION TO REPRINT FROM THE RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL a “defective notice” defense to your tenant. Similarly, these veterans’ disclosures must also be included in every Every year, hot-button topics, social issues, and societal summons served for eviction actions, and the failure to do problems receive attention during the legislative process. With this comes new laws passed by the Oregon legislature so also provides a similar defense. directed at addressing those topics, issues, or problems. House Bill 2006. While most of this bill amends statutes As 2019 made clear, housing in Oregon has never been a that have no bearing on landlord/tenant law, the legislature more pressing topic, and due to that, landlord/tenant law did slightly amend the termination statute within the was not immune from significant legislative attention. same. In doing so, they appear to answer a question long pondered: With regard to payment of relocation for a New landlord tenant laws qualifying landlord exemption under SB 608, does a Senate Bill 608, passed earlier this year, serves as the landlord’s own residence count towards the four-dwellingposter child for the previous paragraph. SB 608, which unit requirement? HB 2006 added particular language amended the termination statute, caused cataclysmic indicating that private non-rental use of a dwelling doesn’t changes to the rights and obligations of landlords in the count toward the four-unit threshold in SB 608. state of Oregon. As we enter 2020, several other new laws became effective. While they vary in their impact, Senate Bill 484 amends the screening statute, ORS all landlords should be aware of these new changes and 90.295. It limits landlords to requiring applicants paying obligations, in order to stay ahead of the game. only a single applicant screening charge within any 60-day period, regardless of the number of rental units owned House Bill 2530 was the subject of a previous article, or managed by the landlord for which the applicant has but given its immense impact, it bears repeating here. applied. Further, it requires the landlord to refund an HB 2530 imposes new obligations on landlords related to applicant-screening charge within a reasonable timeframe veterans’ disclosures. These disclosures must be included if the landlord (a) fills the vacant unit before screening the (continued on page 9) in every notice served pursuant to the landlord/tenant Act, applicant; or (b) does not screen the 6
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
www.rhaoregon.org
2020 EDUCATION CALENDAR
DATE January 9, 2020 January 16, 2020 January 21, 2020
CLASS NAME Relocation Fees & No Cause Terminations Landlording 102 Fair Housing & Applications
INSTRUCTOR Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Jeff Bennett with Warren Allen LLP Shyle Ruder with Fair Housing Council of Oregon
LOCATION RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
Time 6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
February 13, 2020 February 20, 2020 February 25, 2020
Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) PDX Ordinance Insurance Class Termination Notices
Charles Kovas with Charles Kovas Law John Sage with Stegmann Agency Farmers Insurance Sam Johnson with Landlord Solutions
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
March 12, 2020 March 19, 2020 March 24, 2020
Tenant Screening Best Practices Tenant Screening Best Practices Legislative Update
Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Charles Kovas with Charles Kovas Law
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
April 9, 2020 April 16, 2020 April April 21, 2020
Tenant Screening Best Practices Fair Housing, Disability & Asst. Animals Landlording 101 Real Estate Investing
Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Diane Hess with Fair Housing Council of Oregon Mark Passannante with Broer & Passannante Cliff Hockley with Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Srvcs
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX TBD RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 9:00 - 5:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
May 14, 2020
Risk Management
Amber Clark with The Garcia Group
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm
June 11, 2020 June 18, 2020 June 23, 2020
Landlording 102 Tenant Relocation & No Cause Terminations Termination Notices
An Associate with Warren Allen LLP Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Sam Johnson with Landlord Solutions
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 6:30-8:00 pm
July 9, 2020 July 21, 2020
Tenant Screening Best Practices Section 8
Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Charles Kovas with Charles Kovas Law
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
August 13, 2020 August 20, 2020
Relocation Fees & No Cause Terminations Plumbing Basics for Landlords
Charles Kovas with Charles Kovas Law Michelle Card with Apollo Drain
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30-8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm
September 10, 2020 Managing Rentals In Portland September 17, 2020 Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) PDX Ordinance September 22, 2020 Mold Prevention & Remediation
Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Charles Kovas with Charles Kovas Law Mike Gardner with Real Estate Roofing & Mold Solutions
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
October 15, 2020 October 22, 2020 October 10, 2020 October 27, 2020
Cliff Hockley with Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Srvcs Amber Clark with The Garcia Group Ron Garcia with The Garcia Group Mark Passannante with Broer & Passannante
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX TBD RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30 -1:00 pm 9:00-5:00 pm 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Shyle Ruder with Fair Housing Council of Oregon Amber Clark with The Garcia Group
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30-1:00 pm
RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX RHA CONFERENCE ANNEX
6:30 - 8:00 pm 11:30-1:00 pm
Real Estate Investing Managing Rentals In Portland Landlording 101 Terminations
November 12, 2020 Fair Housing & Neighbor Harassment November 19, 2020 Relocation Fees & No Cause Terminations
December 10, 2020 Landlording 102 An Associate with Warren Allen LLP December 17, 2020 How to Hire a Property Manager Cliff Hockley with Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Srvcs * All classes subject to change, view website for all current information. www.rhaoregon.org
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
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Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) Our community relations committee attended the grand opening of PHFS new family village campus on December 12, 2019. This facility is Oregon’s first shelter featuring trauma-informed design & architecture and they will be able to house an additional 25 families with children here. The calm colors, soft lighting and unique areas where families can interact lead to shorter shelter stays & greater success moving into housing. Families have a safe, private place to sleep, food, showers, laundry, computers and clothing.
While there, we presented PHFS with a check for $3,000.00 which will help them run the programs. There are a lot of opportunities for RHA Oregon to get involved and help make this successful. From volunteering at the campus to donations of basic items, such as diapers, shampoo, blankets, etc. We can also bring in and serve lunch, if scheduled in advance. Please contact me directly if you would like to participate with a visit to serve lunch. With more than 2000 RHA Oregon members, I am hoping that we can make a difference! Visit their website at www.pdxhfs.org. Lynne Whitney-Committee Chair Charitable Contributions lynne@realestateroofing.com Jerad Goughnour Tamara Collins Cari Pierce Melinda McClelland 8
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
www.rhaoregon.org
New Year, New Laws
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
applicant. However, it does provide that the landlord does not need to return the screening charge if the tenant refuses an offer from the landlord to rent the dwelling unit. Senate Bill 970 amends the evaluation of applicant statute, ORS 90.303. It now includes prohibitions against some denials based upon marijuana, no doubt in part to marijuana’s new legality in Oregon (and many other states). ORS 90.303 now states that a landlord may not consider criminal convictions or charging history for convictions based solely on the use or possession of marijuana. Additionally, when evaluating an applicant, a landlord may not consider the possession of a medical marijuana card or status as a medical marijuana patient. Senate Bill 873 is a new tenant/consumer protection mechanism. It allows a tenant to apply to the court to set aside an eviction judgment and seal the official records related to that judgment. It requires the court to grant that motion if (a) the judgment is more than five years old and the tenant has satisfied any money award included in the judgment; (b) the judgment was by stipulation and the applicant complied with its terms (including satisfaction of any money award); or (c) the judgment was in the tenant’s favor or resulted in a dismissal of the action. The tenant is required to serve a copy of the motion upon the landlord and provides the landlord 30 days to object. If he or she does so, a hearing must be set. If no objection is filed, or if the court finds the tenant satisfies the requirements, the judgment against them is set aside. If 2019 is any indication, 2020 will continue to see the Oregon legislature paying close attention to the relationships between landlords and tenants. As new landlord tenant laws get passed, they can provide tenants new rights, defenses, or claims against unsuspecting landlords. Staying up to speed on these new landlord tenant laws, including updating forms and practices, has never been more crucial. Brad Kraus is an attorney at Warren Allen LLP. His primary practice area is Landlord/Tenant law, but he also assists clients with various litigation matters, probate matters, real estate disputes, and family law matters. A native of New Ulm, Minnesota, he continues to root for Minnesota sports teams in his free time. He is an avid sports fan, enjoys exercise, spending time with friends and his fiancée, Vicky. You can reach Mr. Kraus via email at kraus@warrenallen.com, or by phone at 503-255-8795.
www.rhaoregon.org
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
9
F.A.I.R. Access in Renting
Opinion Article By: Ron Garcia, Past RHA President/ The Garcia Group
The City Council of Portland is now slated to pass its “Fair Access In Rentals” (F.A.I.R.) Act to become law on March 1, 2020. However, Portland landlords should instead understand this new ordinance to read as: “Forcibly Accepting Increased Risk”. This new statute restricts and governs 1) How tenant screening must be conducted, as well as how vacancies must be advertised and filled, and 2) How much landlords can collect for tenant security deposits and how those funds must be allocated towards damages upon termination, as well as new mandates on handling termination notices (including 72 hour late notifications). The requirements in this ordinance will substantially change most industry-wide accepted practices for advertisements, screening criteria, rental and management policies, termination procedures and for the final accounting resolutions on all residential income properties in the city of Portland. The goals of this ordinance are to lower the barrier of entry to housing-burdened populations and to restrict the amount of money a tenant would otherwise be liable for, in order to pay for damages incurred to the unit. There is no attempt at parody between a landlord and tenant’s rights within this act. There is no adjustments for any size or price of rental units. The penalty provisions of any violation in the statue include “actual damages” sought by the tenant - a provision which allows for an open-ended interpretation of potentially huge and cascading claims. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly has been pursuing this law for nearly 2 years. Mayor Ted Wheeler’s Residential Services Commission supported its progress and provided a forum for it to develop within the Portland Housing Bureau. It should be noted that the RESC is made up of 14 Commissioners - only 5 of which are “landlord representatives”. Of those 5 seats, two Commissioners resigned in 2018 because their perspectives were summarily dismissed by the board (I was one of those members). In 2019, three more of the landlord Commissioners resigned for the same reason. The result is that the Portland City Council’s housing policies are being created by stakeholders that are radically against landlord rights and whose agenda is to impose new social policies that require private citizens to fund public housing policies. The law is cumbersome, confusing and purposely constructed to penalize landlords for not following the very detailed procedures it introduces. The F.A.I.R. ordinance joins with the Portland Relocation Ordinance and the Oregon State rent-control law (HB608) each serving to limit the amount of rent increases and to prevent owners from terminating tenancies. With these new rules, F.A.I.R. designed to regulate the selection of tenants and minimize the costs to repair damages, the burden of liability on Portland Rental Property Owners has skyrocketed. And as a result, this new law fundamentally changes the basic relationship between Landlords and Tenants by assuming that without a host of new policies, all tenants are subject to exploitation. The jus- adopeted rules of the F.A.I.R. ordinance can now be found on the city of Portland’s website. Ironically, while it is slated to become law just weeks, a massive amount of training still needs to be conducted to sort out all of the complexities. Experts all agree that this could take months to bring all industry professionals up to date and will certainly add to the confusion and difficulties in compliance. Cynical as it sounds, the city has been making this law up as they go, and they have added in many caveats and nuances for an array of issues that have created a tangled mess of red tape. Provisions for refunding interest incurred on Tenant Security Deposits (which already exist in state law) are now parsed out in a new and imposing accounting scheme. Forcing landlords to do in-home final inspections within 5 days of sending out a late notice for non-payment for rent is not only onerous and time consuming, but it’s also intrusive and insulting to any tenant who has ever gotten just 5 days behind on a rent payment. Requiring landlords to itemize and place a cost valuation on every fixture, appliance, equipment and personal property in line with a City approved depreciation schedule and requiring a signed mutual agreement between the Tenant and Landlord prior to possession is cumbersome and arbitrary (and substantially more onerous for larger single family homes than, say a 1 bedroom apartment). It also raises anticipated disputes, i.e. what if the tenant doesn’t sign the form and yet is still required (by the law) to be allowed to rent the property? There are many other conflicts inherent in this ordinance too. For example carpet cleaning (as authorized and approved by state law to be a tenant expense) now must be limited to “discrete impacted areas” and not for other areas of the dwelling unit. Tell me - what does that actually mean and how will it play out in every single move-out? Requiring the rental agreement to have the name, address and phone number of the actual bank branch holding the deposit seems excessive. Which Citibank do you go to? The increased amount of administrative oversight regulated in this ordinance is excessive. As a long-time professional property manager, I have long promoted the claim that everyone deserves affordable and safe housing. Tenant relations is an integral part of my business and our company works tirelessly to address the needs, concerns, fairness and habitability issues that rise up daily in managing rental housing. Yet even on our best days, with great tenants, we can be subject to questions, suspicions or accusations, etc. when things don’t go as well as someone likes. Creating overreaching laws that do little for the majority of people they serve and which create intimidating conflict unnecessarily just does not seem like good public policy. At the end of the day, however, when new laws are enacted, our job is to understand them and work diligently on their compliance. The sheer volume of change and the additional requirements and restrictions inherent in this law will be challenging and it will add considerable time allocations for documentation and “risk management”. I certainly believe professional property managers will handle the process and create new best practices to adapt. However I also believe prices to manage rental units will need to go up in order to accommodate these mandates, further burdening the rental property owners who are shouldering the weight. Will we now start seeing every owner raise every rent to its maximum rate every year in order to recover thier costs? Time will tell. For the Property Management industry, I submit we should read this new ordinance as the City of Portland promoting “Frustrating Administrative Inflationary Rate-hikes”. Ron is the Past President of the Rental Housing Alliance Oregon and is currently a candidate for the Oregon State House of Representative, District 37 His website is www.GoGarcia.org 10
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
www.rhaoregon.org
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This material does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Such offers can be made only by the confidential Private Placement Memorandum (the “Memorandum”). Please read the entire Memorandum paying special attention to the risk section prior investing. IRC Section 1031, IRC Section 1033 and IRC Section 721 are complex tax codes therefore you should consult your tax and legal professional for details regarding your situation. This material is not intended as tax or legal advice. There are material risks associated with investing in real estate, Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) properties and real estate securities including illiquidity, tenant vacancies, general market conditions and competition, lack of operating history, interest rate risks, the risk of new supply coming to market and softening rental rates, general risks of owning/operating commercial and multifamily properties, short term leases associated with multi-family properties, financing risks, potential adverse tax consequences, general economic risks, development risks and long hold periods. There is a risk of loss of the entire investment principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Potential cash flow, potential returns and potential appreciation are not guaranteed. Securities offered through WealthForge Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Kay Properties and Investments, LLC and WealthForge Securities, LLC are separate entities. Preferred return is not guaranteed, and subject to available cash flow. www.rhaoregon.org
RENTAL ALLIANCE UPDATE February 2020
11
Monthly Fire Safety TipSafety Tip Monthly For Multi-Family Housing
Fire Alarm Systems
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue 503.649.8577
Fire Alarm Systems are critical when living in apartment communities and chances are, you have a Fire Alarm System and don’t even know it! Here are some tips to help you notice the differences between smoke alarms and two common types of Fire Alarm Systems... Smoke Alarms are mounted on the ceiling or wall in your home, and are designed to Fire Alarm Horn/Strobe sound in the presence of smoke. This is especially critical when you and your family are asleep. When your smoke alarm ‘smells’ or detects smoke, it will activate and sound inside your living space only, not the entire building. Smoke Alarm
Fire Alarm Systems (as opposed to smoke alarms) are made up of multiple components and are designed to notify all the residents throughout the entire building. There are different types of Fire Alarm Systems in apartment communities, local and monitored. Local systems sound an alarm on-site only, while monitored systems automatically call 911.
Fire Alarm Pull Station
Regardless of the type of system, always call to 911 in the event of a fire or emergency. It is important to treat every alarm sound as a real emergency regardless of the time of day. Fire Alarm Bells If you would like more information about the Fire Alarm System in your complex, please contact your apartment manager or visit our website.
For more fire safety tips, visit www.tvfr.com