Skip to main content
The Oregon Legislature today approved a bill that could make Oregon the only U.S. state to enact statewide rent control.
The Oregon House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 608 today, after the more conservative Senate passed it two weeks before.
The bill would place a relatively high cap on rent increases: 7 percent plus inflation for buildings that are less than 15 years old. WW first reported the policy and outlined its details last month.
It would also largely bar landlords from evicting without cause tenants after their first year in an apartment.
The bill is the first major piece of law passed by this year's Legislature, whose Democratic majorities grew in the November election. Gov. Kate Brown is expected to sign it.
Tenants and their advocates celebrated the bill's passage. "I want to thank state lawmakers for standing up for renters like me by recognizing the devastating effect unfair evictions and rent gouging have on individuals, families and communities," says Anna Peña of Eugene, who lost her home after receiving an unaffordable rent increase, according to a statement from the Stable Homes for Oregon Families coalition.