Jen Breunig@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Breunig@@, 20, believes everyone should have a place that’s safe and comfortable to call home.
Breunig, a University junior family and human services major, currently has two years of experience under her belt as an apartment tenant. She shared her concern about the possible expiration of Eugene’s rental housing code, which is in the midst of ongoing dialogue among city council members on whether the ordinance should continue to be enforced after an almost seven-year run.
“I feel it’s a necessity for tenants in Eugene because most of the them are students with little experience renting places, and there are landlords that take advantage of that,” she said.
The code allows the city to inspect rentals and to fine landlords if they don’t respond to tenants’ written complaints about heating, plumbing, structural problems, weatherproofing, smoke detection, security and mold.@@http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=eugene%20rental%20housing%20code%20%2410&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eugene-or.gov%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%3Fopen%3D18%26objID%3D368704%26parentname%3DSearchResult%26parentid%3D1%26mode%3D2%26in_hi_userid%3D2%26cached%3Dtrue&ei=L5efTvPJKqf-iQK-3vRe&usg=AFQjCNECPyVe5B4EhJY3a3z_2hjoh6yWxQ&cad=rja@@
“People have the right to decide to contact their landlord and have them do something about a problem,” Breunig said.
But the ordinance’s uncertain future has sparked a passionate debate, with heavy opposition coming from property owners. Jim Straub, president of the Rental Owners Association of Lane County @@http://www.laneroa.com/about_board_members.html@@and co-chairman of the city’s rental housing code advisory committee, believes the ordinance has always been unnecessary.
“It’s not just worth the expenditure,” Straub said. “It usually takes less than an hour to investigate a complaint.”
The cost of enforcing the code requires a $10 annual fee that is paid for by landlords on each of their rental units@@http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=eugene%20rental%20housing%20code%20%2410&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eugene-or.gov%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%3Fopen%3D18%26objID%3D368704%26parentname%3DSearchResult%26parentid%3D1%26mode%3D2%26in_hi_userid%3D2%26cached%3Dtrue&ei=L5efTvPJKqf-iQK-3vRe&usg=AFQjCNECPyVe5B4EhJY3a3z_2hjoh6yWxQ&cad=rja@@. There are nearly 30,000 total rental units in the city. Since July 2005, the city has ordered landlords to make repairs in 150 cases, or an average of about 25 a year or about two a month@@http://projects.registerguard.com/web/updates/26958221-41/rental-landlords-code-program-repairs.html.csp@@. Straub argues that this means the city is spending approximately $11,600 per case, and that because landlords simply pay for the annual fee by increasing rental costs, students are the people most affected by it.@@see link above@@
“At the end of this all, it’s not the landlords that are paying to enforce this ordinance, it’s the tenants,” Straub said.
Another source of the controversy is that the per-unit fee generates more money than needed to pay for the program; according to a graph prepared for the city council work session held June 15, the program is projected to have a surplus of $180,000 by next June. The graph then shows the surplus amount dropping significantly over the next six years@@http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=eugene%20rental%20housing%20code%20%2410&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eugene-or.gov%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%3Fopen%3D18%26objID%3D368704%26parentname%3DSearchResult%26parentid%3D1%26mode%3D2%26in_hi_userid%3D2%26cached%3Dtrue&ei=L5efTvPJKqf-iQK-3vRe&usg=AFQjCNECPyVe5B4EhJY3a3z_2hjoh6yWxQ&cad=rja@@. Landlords are outraged by the concept that they are being overcharged, and many say the code is unnecessary in the first place: State law prohibits unsuitable housing and gives renters recourse against unresponsive property owners through the courts.
Still, John Van Landingham, attorney at the Lane County Legal Aid and Advocacy Center,@@http://www.lclac.org/#JVL@@ said he would like to see the city continue enforcing the code. He said that if tenants’ options are strictly limited to taking landlords to court, tenants could then be at risk for retaliation from landlords.@@Plus the costs of going to court@@
“Tenants would risk the possibility of eviction,” Van Landingham said.
He said tenants would also have trouble finding a lawyer to represent them.
“One of the arguments landlords are using is that fairly few fines are being issued,” he said. “That’s an unfair argument because when the law came into effect, the goal was not to fine landlords ‘willy-nilly.’ Instead, the city was to work with tenants and landlords to help solve problems without fines.”
Breunig said she doesn’t know what the best solution is, but she said that retrospectively, the safety the rental housing code provided tenants was something that needed to be considered by the city.
“If this program wasn’t implemented, would landlords be less willing to help tenants?” she said.
Straub said trying to find a solution to satisfy tenants as well as landlords was a problem that expanded across Oregon.
“It’s a problem that’s not just local, it’s statewide, and it needs a statewide solution,” he said.