Portland isn’t fining landlords who violate the city’s 3-year-old rent control ordinance.
That has raised concerns among rent control supporters that landlords have little incentive to adhere to the ordinance if their violations go unpunished.
Since November 2020, the city’s rent control board has received 182 complaints, mandated 150 cases of remedial action and issued 37 violations, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The rent control board refers violations and recommends fines to the Housing Safety Office, which has the final authority on whether to penalize landlords. It has not done so with any case so far, the newspaper reported.
Nearly three-quarters of those violations — 27 — have been issued against one landlord, Geoffrey Rice, who owns 30 buildings, the Press Herald reported. The first rent increase appeal filed to the board came from the members of the tenants union living in his property at 655 Congress St.
Rice’s lawyer, Paul Bulger, told the Press Herald that the first violation was “unintentional,” saying he “attempted to follow the rules” and was “punished.” He didn’t respond to questions about subsequent violations, the newspaper noted.
“It’s frustrating because the same thing is going to keep happening unless the city wants to put a stop to it,” Matthew Walker, a local tenants union member who sits on the rent control board, told the Press Herald.
Portland’s housing and safety manager, Zachary Lenhert, told the Press Herald that the city wants “compliance” from landlords and would only impose penalties in cases where they refuse to comply. Lenhert believes most violations stem from a lack of understanding in the rent control rules.
Voters approved rent control in a 2020 referendum fight dominated by a debate over rising housing costs. Since then voters twice rejected referendums pushed by landlords and business groups to roll back or relax rent control.
It is uncertain whether the rent control in the city is effectively holding costs down. A recent report suggests that rent is lower in exempt apartments than rent-controlled ones. But Portland doesn’t require the landlords of exempt units to report their rent prices, and only 29 percent volunteered that information for the report.
