Beginning Thursday, Portland landlords must provide tenants with 75 days notice of any rent increase and provide more information about at-will tenancies.

The changes are part of a new ordinance passed by the City Council last month designed to improve housing security for the city’s renters, who occupy more than half of Portland’s 32,000 housing units. The protections were a response to a rapid increase in rents, as well as a shift to more market-rate and luxury apartments, that are making the city less affordable to low- and middle-income renters.

The ordinance fell short of expectations of tenant advocates, who pushed for rent control, a moratorium on no-cause evictions and additional funding for General Assistance housing subsidies and the city’s tenant-based rental assistance program.

The most significant change enacted by the council involves the amount of time a landlord must give tenants before increasing rents. Portland increased the state-mandated 45-day notice to 75 days.

The city now requires that landlords and tenants sign a document that describes at-will tenancies, which are those that do not involve a lease. Housing advocates and Mayor Ethan Strimling wanted to extend a 30-day notice requirement to terminate such tenancies to 90 days. But the City Council opted for better education instead, including a separate requirement that landlords distribute a leaflet about tenant rights.

The ordinance also calls on the city to establish a landlord-tenant commission that would review data on Portland’s housing market and periodically report back to the council with any additional recommendations for improving the market.


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