Eugene took a small step toward giving renters a housing code and an accessible path for recourse against negligent landlords.
Community members and University students rallied for housing standards at the Eugene City Council meeting Monday night in a final push to make their case before the council conducts a housing work session May 24.
Eugene Citizens for Housing Standards members addressed the City Council with facts, suggestions and personal testimony about their experiences while renting units. The organization is pushing for a system similar to the code installed in Corvallis, which is funded by a yearly $8 fee for renters and provides them with a forum to lodge complaints against and seek repairs from landlords.
Eugene is the largest city in Oregon without a housing code, and although the state possesses a housing code, the city of Eugene has no way of enforcing these rules. Tenants who feel landlords have failed to maintain the property or make adequate repairs have few options, Lane County Law and Advocacy Center attorney John Van Landingham said.
Renters can take landlords to court or withhold rent, but they often risk eviction.
Eugene resident Michelle Loew, who was recently evicted from her Eugene apartment, told the City Council that her landlord had refused to fix her “non-functioning” toilet promptly, leaving it unusable for days at a time. When Loew complained to her property manager, she said she received an eviction notice in the mail two days later.
“I had to call during work hours and I wasn’t reassured that my toilet was going to be fixed when it was going to be fixed,” Loew said. “I think having a toilet is a human rights issue and I think the reason it’s taken seven years for the adoption of some sort of local enforcement for housing standards is that it’s a class issue and the poor people and the working poor in this community are not adequately represented.”
ASUO President-elect Adam Petkun, who addressed the City Council, said he was looking forward to continuing the work toward a housing code and discussed the importance of the council taking progressive action.
“I think it went well,” Petkun said. “We had a lot of support here, it’s something that’s been building for a really long time.”
ASUO President Maddy Melton said at the meeting that the push for housing standards was really a push for a mechanism for enforcing the standards already in place at the state level. After the meeting, however, she said she felt the council had misunderstood her.
“My point on the enforcement mechanism was kind of missed,” she said. “I don’t think that we can enforce these standards for all citizens unless we adopt (a code) on the local level, and I don’t know that the councilors are getting that.”
The history of housing standards in Eugene stretches back to the initial code created in 1966. The Eugene Housing Code remained in place until 1983 when the City Council voted to eliminate the code because of high vacancy rates, redundancy with state laws, inconsistent enforcement and the need to cut costs.
Melton said the issue of a new code has been on the back burner for many years.
“Back in 1997 was the last time that the full council had a proposal,” Melton said. “The council has been hearing about this issue in some way, shape or form for some time.”
She said the West University Task Force gave the council its recommendation last summer and housing standards were the No. 1 recommendation in the proposal.
Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly said the issue has been studied over and over again and no more investigation is required.
“There is a proposal out there from Eugene citizens that is a proven proposal, it’s working in Corvallis … so I hope we can move forward.”
After the meeting, Loew said she was hopeful.
“As far as how the councilors took it, I feel that the same people who in the past have exhibited a resistance to the housing standards were vague in their responses to the testimony and the facts presented to them and I’m wondering how they’re going to go,” Loew said. “This is not an issue that’s going to go away because it’s very overdue, so I guess I’m hopeful.”
Melton said the council’s reaction represented a step forward.
“There are still some people, for whatever reason, who are dragging their feet on the issue,” Melton said. “Nancy Nathanson has been on this council the longest and she was quoted saying that this city is ‘process happy’ — well, we’ve been in this process for 20 years and we’re ready for it to be done.”