Tag Archives: Lease

FREE LANDLORD-TENANT RESOURCES

Legal Aid Services

Legal Aid Services of Oregon has published a guide book titled Landlord Tenant Law in Oregon.  The electronic copy of this document can be found here.

Print copies are often available at Oregon Legal Aid offices.
Go here for office locations:
Legal Aid Services of Oregon
Please call to confirm that they have copies available.

Oregon State Bar

The Oregon State Bar website has a resource page at:

http://www.osbar.org/public/legalinfo/tenant.html

Consumer Price Index – Portland: up 3.1% 1/2011 to 1/2012

From: http://www.bls.gov/ro9/cpiport.htm

Area prices up 1.3 percent over the past six months, up 3.1 percent from a year ago

Prices in the greater Portland area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.3 percent in the second half of 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted the latest six-month increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and food. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.1 percent.  Energy prices jumped 16.9 percent, mainly due to an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the year.

Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA)

The “Helping Families Save Their Home Act of 2009” (S.896) went into effect on May 20, 2009, and includes the “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act” (PTFA), as well as amendments to Section 8 of the “United States Housing Act of 1937.” Both portions of the bill establish new Federal protections for tenants living in properties that go into foreclosure. This law preempts current state laws except where a state’s law provides stronger protections for the tenant. The PTFA included a sunset clause which scheduled this law to expire on December 31, 2012.

Effective May 20th, tenants with a “bona fide” lease that was entered into before notice of foreclosure can remain in a foreclosed home until the end of their lease, unless the bank sells the property to someone who intends to make it his/her primary residence. If the new owner intends to occupy the home, they are still required to give 90-days notice to the tenant prior to eviction. If the tenant does not have a lease (month-to-month) or current state law allows the lease to be terminated at will, there is still a 90-day notice requirement prior to eviction. Notice must be provided by the “immediate successor in interest” which, in most cases, would be the bank or the new owner.

The Act was designed to be silent on several issues which means state law will need to be consulted for further clarification.

Where to Find the Consumer Price Index – Portland Area

Many leases escalate the lease rates each year based on the change in the Consumer Price Index.  In Oregon and southern Washington, the Portland-Salem index is likely the index cited.

The link to the web page with this information is http://www.bls.gov/ro9/ro9_or.htm.  Go down to the News Releases section and select the “Portland-Salem, OR-WA (Semiannual News Release)” HTML or PDF link.

The semi-annual CPI Index comes out in July or August (for Jan thru June) and the Annual CPI for the each prior year comes out in February or March.

The full list of Western News Releases and Indexes can be found at http://www.bls.gov/ro9/news.htm.