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Legislation that would limit rent increases and protect tenants from eviction without cause has advanced through the Oregon Senate Housing Committee after hours of personal testimony from renters and advocates.

Senate Bill 608 is supported by Democratic leaders in the Legislature; sponsors include House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney.

The bill would limit annual rent increases to 7 percent plus inflation. At current inflation rates of about 3 percent, rent increases would be held to about 10 percent per year.

The bill would also prohibit no-cause evictions after a tenant has been in place for 12 months.

The multifamily industry has taken different approaches to countering the bill. Jim Straub, legislative director of the Oregon Rental Housing Association, said the group is remaining neutral on the bill despite some qualms.

鈥淚 do not believe it will be catastrophic to our livelihood,鈥� he said.

Other groups and some individual landlords have lodged their opposition.聽Some said they feared limits to no-cause evictions, which can be used to oust troublesome tenants without the time and expense of a for-cause eviction fight.

鈥淚n cases where tenants have repeated and continual issues, we must be able to remove them without a fight over why we want them removed,鈥� Brian Kester, general manager of Eugene’s Bell Real Estate, stated in written testimony.

Dan Hayes, a Portland landlord, also urged a 鈥榥o’ vote.

鈥淩ent control does not work,鈥� he said before the committee. 鈥淲hen you fix pricing, you have a tendency to fix pricing.鈥�

The bill hearing Monday reflected the changed circumstances in Salem, where Democrats who were backed by tenant advocates have taken power. In symbolism few could miss, Sen. Shemia Fagan, D-Portland, led the hearing as chairwoman of the Senate Housing Committee. Fagan triumphed in the May 2018 primary over longtime Sen. Rod Monroe, a landlord who was considered a roadblock for tenant protection measures.

A stream of advocates for tenants said the bill would protect them from sudden rent increases that can lead to displacement and even homelessness. The bill 鈥済ives some measure of accountability and predictability,鈥� said Katrina Holland, executive director of the Community Alliance of Tenants in Portland.

The bill would prevent sharp rent increases such as one of 113 percent given to one man, said Sybil Hebb, director of policy advocacy for the Oregon Law Center.

鈥淭hese are very real examples and they are very real needs that we have that S.B. 608 will speak to,鈥� she said.

The bill was passed out of committee in its first hearing via a 3-1 vote, with another member absent.

John DiLorenzo, a lobbyist representing the landlord group More Housing Now!, spoke in support of five amendments put forward by Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton.

鈥淭he bill as written is unworkable,鈥� DiLorenzo said.

One proposed amendment would delete the emergency clause that would cause the bill to take effect immediately, replacing it with 91 days after the Legislature adjourns. Another would bar municipal governments from requiring landlords to pay eviction penalties, as Portland does in its relocation ordinance.