Dan Mason
Mason is a community manager with MG Properties. He also serves as president of the board of Multifamily NW, an association representing rental property owners, managers and vendors.
An economic storm is prepared to hit Oregon’s housing market when rent payments for many become due on April 1. Tens of thousands of Oregonians have been laid off or have seen their hours cut, and many of them will not be able to pay rent. Without those cash inflows, landlords will begin to default on their mortgage payments and other financial obligations.
Many Oregonians have never witnessed this kind of massive economic disruption and social upheaval. Hourly workers are first to feel its effects, but they will not alone bear them. The basic stability of our housing supply is at stake. Without a comprehensive plan in place for housing assistance, we are days away from watching our entire social framework begin to unravel and irreparable damage will be done to our communities.
For the thousands of Oregonians who have lost their jobs or are unable to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oregon must quickly establish a program to provide emergency rental assistance vouchers. This would provide housing stability through our present crisis and ensure short-term liquidity while preventing a wave of rental property foreclosures. For the sake of keeping people in their homes, this should be the Oregon Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus Response’s top economic priority.
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This is not a time to reinvent the wheel. We know that rental assistance voucher programs work. They allow tenants to apply for and access voucher funds that meet rent obligations, while at the same time ensuring landlords are able to meet debt service requirements demanded by their lenders. Through one payment, the state is able to meet the needs of tenants, landlords and the broader financial system.
Because of the nature of this crisis, assistance should not face typical means tests. We know that earners across the spectrum are impacted, and while it may be politically attractive to assist only low-income families, that approach would be shortsighted. Many households at the median-income range and above will struggle to stay afloat in the coming months. This is likely to be a protracted crisis, and housing stability will be jeopardized for most renters.
This aid should be available statewide, as the problem could be even more acute in smaller cities and towns throughout Oregon where there are fewer employers and limited opportunities for residents to find other employment, even after the spread of the virus has been contained.
At the same time, we should not forget the needs of residential and rental property owners. It’s likely that the state won’t be able to provide enough rental assistance for all renters who are financially impacted by COVID-19. As a result, rental property owners may themselves need extended deferral of mortgage payments and debt relief. One such plan would be for state-chartered lenders to grant, on request of the borrower, a 120-day moratorium on debt service payments with a review in 90 days at which time an extension can be considered if the crisis has not eased.
Finally, these are difficult times for every single person in Oregon. It isn’t surprising, but it is disappointing, that some political groups are using this moment to push for back rent to simply be forgiven – a cost that someone else will have to bear. The media and government agencies have an obligation to ensure that residents know that the eviction moratorium does not mean that rent does not have to be paid. Let’s respond smartly to the crisis, without creating new problems that will make it last longer than it should.
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March 29, 2020 at 08:00PM
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Opinion: Rental assistance must be a top priority for the state - oregonlive.com
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