10/24/1979 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. - etc. He said that the landlord-tenant law gives the landlord the right to e ask a person to move in 30 days, but he feels that a person involved in the conversion of rental units would not want to have the loss of income generated by requesting people to vacate immediately. He feels that perhaps most of the tenants who were surveyed stated they did not want the conversion because they did not understand it. Rents will go up regardless of what happens. He feels this type of conversion fills a void in the market. The new home today is not affordable to many people and this conversion offers a viable alternative to someone wanting to realize the dream of homeownership. Though taxes may go up and upkeep is required with ownership, mortgage prices are fixed and costs usually are less than when renting. Vacancy rates should not increase with conversion, he said. Occupancy will be shifted in some cases, but that shifting will not destroy the available housing in the total marketplace. He also noted that approximately 250 new units are planned for construction in the downtown area. That information will be made available to tenants re10- cat i ng. He added that this is a human rights issue for everyone, not just the elderly. Whitney Scobert, 440 Blair, submitted an October 24 newspaper article from the Oregonian titled "Experts Gloomy Over Housing." The article points to government barriers and obstructions in housing construction as the princi- pal culprit in today's tight Oregon housing market. He feels this type of action must be stopped and added that elderly housing development on his own property has been prevented by the Council for two and-a-ha1f years. Ruth Shepherd, 1765 East 26th, in looking at the Patterson Tower situa- - tion, has concluded that condominium conversion is not an elderly problem exclusively. There are a broader set of issues involved. It seems to her that the problem is, in fact, a low percentage of available housing, com- pounded by the fact that there is an imbalance in the types of housing to provide a range. That imbalance should be addressed by the Council. She suggested that the process of condominium conversion should include a method to ensure that, before a rental unit is converted, there should be a percentage of available rental units assured in that area of the community before permission is granted. Betty Niven, 3940 Hilyard, felt that the major issue should be making relocation of those who will be forced to move as gentle a process as possible. She said that most residents will not want to purchase the unit if they can't do so with cash, so their choices will be moving or staying where they are if able to rent a unit purchased by an investor. It seems there could be 20 percent of the units available as rentals because a developer need only assure 80-percent owner-occupancy to get financing. When tenants are faced with the question of whether to buy and protect themselves against inflation or to move to another rental, most will decide to buy, she feels. One determining factor would be whether financing would be available at lower rates, e.g., available state pro- grams. A proposal on next May's ballot would redefine multi-family e 10/24/79--9 581