In a recent announcement by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS), landlords subject to Oregon’s rent control law will be allowed to increase rents by a maximum of 10% in 2024. This announcement follows a new law that was passed earlier this year, aiming to prevent excessive rent hikes during years of high inflation.
The previous law, established in 2019, had capped rent increases at 7% plus the rate of inflation. However, due to the significant inflation experienced in 2022, some tenants faced rent hikes as high as 14.6% this year. In response to these challenges, the new law introduced a 10% cap on rent increases.
It’s important to note that this 10% cap only applies to buildings that are at least 15 years old and does not extend to subsidized housing. Property managers overseeing newer buildings have the flexibility to increase rent as they see fit, with no specific limits on how high they can set rents for new tenants.
Under Oregon’s rent control regulations, landlords are restricted to raising rent only once in a 12-month period. Additionally, they cannot increase rent during the first year of a tenant’s occupancy and must provide a written notice of at least 90 days before raising rent. Landlords who exceed the allowable rent increase limit or evict tenants with the intention of raising rents are subject to financial penalties, including paying their tenants three months’ rent plus actual damages.
DAS officials say these measures are designed to strike a balance between protecting tenants from steep rent hikes and providing landlords with reasonable flexibility in managing their properties.
DAS will calculate and post the percentage for the 2025 calendar year by Sept. 30, 2024.
Information about the maximum annual rent increase percentage, as well as the provisions of ORS 90.323 and 90.600 (statutes governing rent increases), can be found on the OEA website.
Source: OEA
