What's Happening

News from Cabell Enterprises

 

 

Cabell Enterprises can be your link to what’s going on
– and what’s new –
in the housing industry as it affects Oregon landlords.

Norton Cabell is retiring

After 20 years of supporting landlords throughout Oregon, Cabell is retiring. He will still manage his own rentals, but his consulting, teaching, and lobbying activities are now mostly in the past.


 

   

New law coming that will affect Oregon landlords

The 2011 legislature is unlikely to impact the property management business in major ways as it will be consumed with balancing the budget. The General Landlord tenant Coalition will have a bill; it will contain 9 items: 1. Simplifying the disclosure of fees; 2. Clarifying that nonpayment of rent doesn’t trump a retaliation defense; 3. Increasing the penalty for noncompliance with screening and certain deposit rules to double damages plus $150; 4: Bringing the CO alarm statute into agreement with the Fire Marshal’s rules; 5: Requiring payment of rent if a tenant (more likely, the tenant’s attorney) asks for findings of fact under ORCP 62; 6: increasing to $1,000 the value of property abandoned that a landlord can give or throw away; 7: Clarifying when a tenant may apply a security deposit to rent after receipt of notice of a pending foreclosure; 8: Expanding who can leave with the victim of domestic violence who uses the 14-day termination notice; 9: Fixing two improper references.

The Manufactured Housing Landlord Tenant Coalition will also probably have a bill covering five subjects: 1: Fixing (one hopes) some of the problems around the mandatory conversion to submetering mandated for 12/31/12 by, among other things, allowing an opt-out for parks that implement a “super conservation pro rata” billing method; 2. Determining rights and responsibilities of homeowners who don’t choose to buy their lots when a park converts to a subdivision; 3: Improving the process for park residents to purchase the park when it is for sale; 4: Changing some sunset provisions; 5. Reducing from 6 to 4 the hours of required education for park managers.
 


   

Upcoming Educational Opportunities

Cabell may put on a few trainings in the future. Contact Oregon Rental Housing Association for what is pending.
 


 

Companion animals, assistance animals, and more. Still a moving target.

For landlords, who have to comply with the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the difference between a service animal, an assistance animal, a comfort animal, a companion animal, etc., doesn't matter because we have to accommodate them all. It's not so clear under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Here's an article from the New York Times that explains the difference and points out the difficulties faced by people with disabilities and those businesses that have to accommodate them.


 


 

Thinking of prohibiting smoking in your rentals?

A recent study prepared by Campbell DeLong Resources for the American Lung Association of Oregon outlines attitudes of renters in the Metro area to smoking. The results show that the vast majority of tenants (4 out of 5) would prefer to live in smoke-free housing. So it makes sense to consider making your apartments smoke-free. An article I wrote for the December 2007 issue of Metro Apartment Manager explores the fair housing implications of prohibiting smoking.

Both Oregon Rental Housing Association and Metro Multifamily Housing Association have developed smoke-free addendums and other tools for landlords who want to rent smoke-free housing. The Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland has put some of those on its web site.


 

 

Opinion from HUD expands definition of when a "reasonable accommodation" has been requested

To request a reasonable accommodation, a tenant who meets the legal definition of someone who is disabled needn't use those words. From a recent newsletter, here's a synopsis of a recent HUD/DOJ Joint Statement on the subject. And here's the actual text of the Joint Statement.


 

 

Tax credit projects cannot use Oregon's "no cause" termination provisions

Can a tax credit-financed property use no-cause terminations? A recent IRS ruling says, No. Take our word for it; or read the IRS ruling.


 

 

Manipulative roommates? A recurring problem for landlords

A recent Rental Forum column published in The Sunday Oregonian co-written by us addresses the question of dealing with "difficult/manipulative" "friends or roommates." Read it here.


   

 

Calculating life expectancy of appliances and other housing components

A recent study by the National Association of Home Builders and Bank of America lists the life expectancy of housing components and appliances. Who would have guessed that a microwave has a life of 9 years, an exhaust fan 10 years, and an electric water heater 11 years? If you have to calculate depreciation for appliances (and other building components) when settling with security deposits, this can be a useful tool for you. Of course, these are estimates and in some cases don’t accord with real life, at least in my experience. But they can be useful if you have to articulate the basis for your calculations.

Some other sources of estimates (and they will differ) are on web sites hosted by This Old House, The Samurai Appliance Repair Man, and Demesne.


 

 

Be careful how you write your ads. HUD may be watching.

Avoid getting into trouble with your advertising. While it may be legal to say "female roommate wanted," many newspapers won't publish it. Some are more conservative than what the HUD rules are. That's because HUD isn't always clear about what constitutes unlawful discrimination in advertising and because not everyone at HUD agrees all the time. The conservatism of the newspaper may work to your advantage, since it is always you, only sometimes then, who are responsible for the legality of the ad. HUD did publish a memorandum over a decade ago that can help you understand the nuances of what wording works and what doesn't.


 

 
     
   
 
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