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Here are the reasons given by those who supported housing code enforcement, again recognizing that not all the yes voters agreed with all of these arguments: 1. The Corvallis experience is impressive and persuasive, indicating that a reasonable program can be run cost-effectively and efficiently. 2. The Corvallis experience also indicates that a housing code enforcement program would be of benefit to both landlords and tenants. Mediation and education are better for landlords and tenants than litigation, which is the primary enforcement tool under state law. 3. Local control of issues such as this one is almost always better than not. 4. Landlords are not responsible for homelessness, and likely won't support a landlord tax for homelessness or affordable housing, while landlords - albeit mostly the few bad ones - are responsible for repair failures. In other words, there is a clearer connection for a landlord tax dedicated to housing code enforcement. 5. The Corvallis model costs each landlord very little per rental unit, and so is unlikely to cause rent increases. Moreover, rents generally are a function of what the market will bear, not a function of a small operating cost increase such as this. 6. The state law, the Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, has several enforcement tools for tenants whose landlords fail to make repairs. Unfortunately, they generally require a lawyer to represent the tenant or represent a significant risk of loss of one's home, or both, thereby discouraging use of the enforcement remedy. Housing code enforcement is a better remedy for some tenants. 7. Amending the state landlord-tenant law to make its remedies work better for tenants is a difficult task, not easily accomplished; I've tried. Additional issue: Exemptions. If the Council chooses to proceed with housing code enforcement, the HPB unanimously supported exemption, from coverage and/or the tax, for (a) subsidized housing, including Section 8 voucher/privately-owned units, public housing units, and low-income housing projects whose funding was supported by the HPB, and for (b) housing currently exempted from coverage of the state law, both similar to the exemptions provided by the Corvallis program. The primary reason for the first exemption is that these units already have some sort of regular inspection program. f/j hv/hpb.hsgcodeenforcement. 0704.wpd 2