New Year, new laws?

With a new year upon us, the long legislative session of 2025 will begin February 4^th. Stay alert for messages from the ORHA legislative team and provide support where you can. Despite the increase in support for a more conservative agenda across the nation and Oregon, the West Coast remains solidly Democratic.

 That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean we will be faced with a likely barrage of new laws extending what are euphemistically called “tenant protections.” These new laws may reshape our industry significantly and we need to use whatever tools at our disposal to push back on some of the more extreme concepts so please act when called upon.

 Change in office hours continues

Remember that office hours continue to be 12-4 Monday through Thursday and closed on Fridays. With only one staff person on duty currently, it’s essential that we allow Loretta the time she needs to transition and keep Lane ROA on track. Even though she is in the office at other times, please respect the posted office hours. We hope to expand office hours again once we have hired a new office support person.

 The board is working on a job description for an additional staff member and plans to begin advertising for the position this month. We will advertise in the usual places but also want to spread the word through you, our members, in case you know someone who would like to apply. Expect an email with the details later this month.

 Programming and Speakers

We have a great line-up of speakers for 2025. This month our featured speaker is Melisa Andrion

Community Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator for Senior and Disability Services. As we baby boomers age, landlords are encountering concerning situations with older renters who are struggling to live independently and who may require services to successfully continue their tenancies or transition to assisted living. We hope to gain insight into those resources from Melisa to help you navigate these sometimes-challenging issues.

 This meeting will be held online. If you haven’t yet attended an online meeting, please give it a try! Just like overcoming hesitancy about attending online classes, I know a lot of members who did and found that it was great; so great, in fact, that we had to stop doing in-person classes due to a lack of participation.

 We hold five in-person general meetings per year (March, May, June, September and October) and five online (January, February, April, July and November), so if you don’t attend, you’re going to miss some great info. Hope you’ll give it a try .

Happy Holidays, hoping the message finds you well. As we near the end of 2024, I want to express my gratitude to you, our members, and our volunteer board of directors for all you do to support Lane ROA in our mission to provide quality landlord support. Our motto is, “Opening the Door to Successful Property Management,” and it is our mission to help you be a successful rental owner.

 Being a landlord in Oregon is becoming more and more complex – especially in Eugene and Portland – and we are all working diligently to keep you abreast of the ever-changing legal landscape. As we enter the 2025 long legislative session, please stay plugged in to calls for action from our legislative team in Salem. Your voice really does matter. While we have a dedicated lobbyist through the Oregon Rental Housing Association (ORHA), you are lobbyists too!

 I used to think ‘lobbyist’ was a dirty word until I joined the board of ORHA and saw that they largely function to educate lawmakers who can’t possibly know every facet of everyone’s businesses and concerns or the impacts of their votes.

 Take time to reach out to your legislative reps not only during legislative sessions, but regularly to let them know how their decisions impact our business and what that means not only for rental owners, but Oregon’s economy as well. When we send you a request to get involved, please respond, even if it’s just a few short sentences letting government leaders know how you feel about a specific piece of legislation – it does make a difference.

 Office transition

Remember, the office is still working through our staff transition and office hours will continue to be limited as we reorganize duties and look to hiring an additional staff person to assist Loretta. She has stepped up mightily and we are so grateful for her dedication to you and our board.

 Until further notice, office hours will continue to be limited to 12 noon – 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and closed on Fridays. We anticipate that early next year, once things have settled down and the transition is complete, we can extend those hours. We’ll let you know.

 

Thanks again for your support,

 Tia Politi, ROA President