By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
February 01, 2023

If you are a landlord whose rents are extremely low and you were hoping to take advantage of the generous rent increase percentage we are allowed so far for 2023 (14.6%), you might want to get that notice served sooner rather than later. There is a bill in the works to reduce the allowable increase amounts, and of course it has an emergency clause attached to it, so would become law immediately upon the Governor’s signature, if it passes. While the possible reduction in allowable rent increase amounts isn’t too bad for owners whose rents are in the market range, for those of you who are playing catch up, you’ll get even further behind, so get going! You must provide at least a 90-day written notice, but nothing says you can’t give more time. If the bill passes, as it currently reads, it won’t impact notices to increase rent that have already been served, so even if you aren’t increasing until later in the year you can serve the notice now.

The 2023 legislative session is in full swing. Please stay alert for opportunities to submit testimony. We are facing a number of disheartening bills that, if enacted, would continue to impact our members – your legislators need to hear from you, it really does make a difference!

Looking forward to seeing all our ORHA delegates at our next meeting in Medford, March 17-18. We do have a cap on the number of attendees due to space constraints at the hotel, so chapter delegates, you need to RSVP early to get a seat. Registration info can be found in Ben Seamans Office Report. Looking forward to seeing you all there. We are looking at finding a place to have a group dinner on Friday after committee meetings, so if you want to join in, check in with me on Friday and I’ll let you know where we’re going.