The last thing you or your residents would ever want is to have murderers, rapists, drug dealers, arsonists, and other dangerous criminals in your community. And because “criminals” aren’t among the people that fair housing laws protect, it’s okay to refuse to rent to persons who have a record of committing these crimes.

Right?

Wrong! Denying housing to a person on the basis of a criminal record potentially is a form of illegal discrimination. But since the fair housing laws don’t expressly say this, too many owners and property managers fail to recognize the existence of this liability risk, let alone take steps to manage it.

So, this month’s fair housing lesson deals with the thorny and frequently misunderstood issue of criminal record discrimination in the rental process. First, we’ll explain the legal basis for holding owners liable for a form of discrimination that the fair housing laws don’t even mention. We’ll then set out eight rules to help you carry out criminal background screening of rental applicants, regardless of whether the housing property is private, government-assisted, or public, without committing discrimination.  

One of the advantages of being a lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine, is we have lots of different lawyers with many different areas of expertise. To answer the questions below, I enlisted the help of my colleague Jim Oliver, who is a lawyer with substantial experience in the insurance industry. As with all of these articles, the following should not be construed as legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. If you have specific legal questions or concerns, please reach out to your attorney.

Question:  In reviewing MHCO Form 42, the new 10-day notice, which replaces the old 72-hour notice, we’re told not to use it without consulting an attorney to determine if the Moratorium is still in effect. Isn’t it still in effect until 7/1/2021?

Editor's Note:  The revised Form 42 notice and Forms 110 and 111 are ATTACHED to Phil's article under "Community Updates".  The forms are not uploaded under "Forms".  

Pet Rent

Question:  Is it permissible to charge a tenant rent for their pet? 

By Jamie Goldberg | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Democrats in the Oregon Senate remain divided on a proposal that would extend the state’s residential eviction moratorium. That leaves Oregonians who have struggled with their rent during the pandemic in a state of uncertainty less than four weeks before the current moratorium expires on Dec. 31.

Members of the Oregon House have been circulating a proposal that would extend the eviction moratorium through the end of June for renters facing financial hardship and create a new fund for landlords whose tenants have fallen behind on rent.

Question:  We have a couple living in a nice RV in our park on a month-to-month rental agreement.  They have been here for about two years, are retired, and have never had trouble paying the rent.  To make a long story short, we refused their rent earlier this year in January, February and March until we resolved a dispute with them regarding their dogs.  When we asked them to pay that rent, they refused because by then the statewide COVID-19 eviction moratorium had gone into effect.  Can we evict them for not paying pre-COVID rent that they still owe?

By: Angel Rogers, ARM, CCRM

I am a product of the 1960’s. I grew up in a middle-class bedroom community about 60 miles from Los Angeles.  We had a swimming pool and each of my siblings and I had our own bedrooms.  We went on family vacations in our station wagon every summer and when we returned, we attended summer day camp.  When we got older, we went to “sleep away” camp. We drank water from the hose, and we played outside until the streetlights came on. We had new wardrobes for back to school and Christmas was magical. Both of my parents were present my entire life, they were both college educated and they were educators as well. 

We were not wealthy. We did not live in a “certain” zip code. My parents worked ridiculously hard as schoolteachers, and when they both went back to college to pursue master’s degrees, they did so at night, taking turns on who would go when.  Getting those extra degrees (my father later earned his EdD), placed them on a higher pay scale.  They sacrificed to provide for us.

This is my lens that I view the world through.

Is it different than yours? Probably.  But what I have found is that most of us have more in common than we do different.  You would not know that in 2020 and it seems like every difference we have has been amplified and exploited.  We are no longer celebrating each other; we are fighting each other.  Publicly. With intolerance towards each other’s views and beliefs.  It seems like ourlens is the onlyacceptable lens. 

Rent Increases in Oregon for 2020-2021

Question: Going into 2021, what is the applicable rent cap and when does it start. Does the new amount start this month (October 2020) or is it effective January 2021?  Finally, is the effective date of the rent increase amount based on when the rent increase notice is sent or when it becomes effective?

The City of Portland continues to tighten its grip on local landlords. It has temporarily amended its housing code to provide thatif anyrent increase effective between September 16, 2020 and March 31, 2021 is received and the tenant is unable to pay the increased amount, the renter is potentially eligible for Relocation Assistance from the landlord. See: Portland City Code,  PCC 30.01.085.