Amy Staszko on the front porch of her home in Bend on April 12.

Oregon’s pandemic eviction protections have expired, but the challenges for renters are far from over.

The number of people being evicted in Oregon is higher than it was before the pandemic rocked the personal finances of most renters — and experts say the number of people being displaced from their homes, with or without a legal eviction, could be even higher.

Deschutes County has seen a spike in evictions since pandemic protections began to wane, according to Brenden De Lancey, an education specialist for the Community Alliance of Tenants.

“Well, we’ve definitely seen a spike in termination notices, especially non-payment termination notices since, not only the eviction moratorium ended, but we had Safe Harbor protection laws that ended last summer,” De Lancey said.

Between the pandemic’s onset and last October, state and federal officials enacted a smattering of policies designed to slow or stop evictions, from a federal public health-related moratorium eventually struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court to a state “safe harbor” law that allowed tenants to remain in their homes while waiting for rental assistance.

Rent control bill

The Legislature is scheduled to consider further amending a rent control bill on Thursday. The Senate Rules Committee will debate and possibly amend Senate Bill 611, an already watered-down version of the original legislation introduced in January.

Under a 2019 law, the Legislature put in place the first statewide rent cap in the nation, linking increases to changes in the Consumer Price Index. Annual rent could increase by the rate of inflation, plus 7%. The cap applied to buildings at least 15 years old.

Advocates for renters say the law backfired amid soaring inflation that allowed landlords in 2023 to increase rents up to 14.6%.

Senate Bill 611 originally called for a new maximum rent hike of the Consumer Price Index plus 3% with a total increase capped at 8%. The rent control would also have covered all buildings more than 3 years old.

After objections from landlord groups and others, Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Portland, a chief co-sponsor, offered an amendment to change the annual rent cap increase to the Consumer Price Index plus 5%, with a total cap of 10%. The amendment also reverted to the original legislation’s covering only buildings 15 years or older.

The only other change is whether a landlord would have to pay just two months rent, instead of three months, for tenant moving expenses.

Despite the higher limits, the bill was approved by the Senate Housing and Development Committee on a 3-to-2 party-line vote, with Republicans Tim Knopp, R-Bend, and Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, voting no.

Knopp and Anderson issued a minority report that included a proposed amendment change to the current rent cap formula, but would appropriate $25 million in residential assistance to tenants who are disabled, elderly, victims of domestic abuse, veterans, or members of households with incomes of 60% or less of the area median income.

Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, sent the bill to the Senate Rules Committee on April 25. This is sometimes done when a bill’s chance of passage is not certain or there are key details still to be worked out.

The Senate Rules Committee will consider the options on Thursday. It is one of the committees that is exempt from time deadlines that have stalled many policy bills this session. If the committee approves a bill, it will go the Senate floor for a vote. It would then go to the House Rules Committee, which is also exempt from time deadlines.

Effects of the cap

The impact of the statewide rent control measure was — as with most parts of the pandemic — unprecedented.

In the first few months, eviction filings in the state dropped from around 1,500 a month to less than a third of that, according to data compiled by Evicted in Oregon, a research group at Portland State University. In Deschutes County, 45 eviction cases in January 2020 dropped to just six in May.

Eviction filings have crept back up since then. Around 500 eviction cases have been reported in Deschutes County since January 2022, De Lancey said.

That’s likely an undercount of how many people have been displaced from their homes by termination notices since some people will move out in response to a termination notice without challenging it in court. Getting a lawyer to review the notice and potentially take it to court can stop the eviction from happening — though losing an eviction case in court is also a big risk.

“When you lose an eviction case, unfortunately, that’s something that goes on your record for five years,” De Lancey said. “And more often that leaves people having their applications for new housing denied for that five-year period and oftentimes leads to people being homeless.”

One common challenge that renters facing eviction experience is a disadvantage in the courtroom, De Lancey said. In Deschutes County, landlords are four to five times more likely to be represented by an attorney than tenants.

That can often be the difference between being able to stay in one’s home and being evicted, he said, “especially for those quick turnaround times and non-payment terminations. Having that attorney there with you even if everything is being followed to the letter of the law makes the difference for a lot of people facing those issues.”

Tenants now have a little more time to prepare if they are facing eviction for nonpayment. Under state law changed by the Legislature this year, landlords must give tenants 10 days notice to move out for nonpayment instead of the 72 hours required before.

If tenants are struggling to pay rent or expecting to face eviction, De Lancey recommends that they first seek out rent assistance from community organizations and nonprofits. If those efforts aren’t successful, he recommends tenants seek out an attorney or call the Community Alliance of Tenants hotline to learn about the process and the limited resources that are available.

Oregon Capital Bureau reporter Gary A. Warner contributed to this story.

Priced Out: Housing affordability series

The Bulletin’s Priced Out series answers key questions about Central Oregon’s housing affordability crisis and shares first-hand experiences of those caught in its grip.

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In a perfect world, we would never leave’: Bend’s young families balance future need with high housing costs

Housing shortage: High housing costs and low availability are hallmarks of region’s housing shortage

Residents moving away: Fed up with prices and parking in Bend, businesswoman moves to Redmond

No easy answer: As the region grows, no housing type is a silver bullet

Rental challenges: Finding an affordable rental is tough in Central Oregon 

Defining affordable: What is affordable housing? 

An unfortunate loophole: Bend woman caught in an affordable housing loophole

Family helps: Bend couple buy first home with help from family

Tips for housing: Tips and costs for buying a Central Oregon home

A system in peril: Bend woman is “seeing a whole system collapse” as she works with families on the brink of homelessness

Families on the brink: What’s in place for families on the brink of homelessness

Changes pending for Oregon rent cap legislation 

Oregon Senate OKs housing package