April 28, 2010
April 28, 2010
Oregon Faith Report News Note:
An Ashland family with two toddlers has raised an interesting question on how far reaching Oregon anti-discrimination housing laws go. At the center of the debate is an Ashland family with kids who are renting out a cottage behind their house. The law says they must accept the first qualified person. It appears that personal feelings could manifest greater problems with the law. This comes on the heels of a local study showing discrimination occurring in Ashland. Hannah Guzik of the Ashland Daily Tidings reports.
“..According to fair housing laws, the Campbells are required to select the first qualified renter who applies for the $600-a-month cottage, said Moloy Good, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon.”Landlords need to not discriminate,” he said. “There are no exceptions, even the ‘I had an icky feeling’ one.”
Since the results of a housing council study conducted in Ashland were announced to the public last week, many residents have expressed outrage at the high rate of discrimination cited in the study.
Mayor John Stromberg has called on residents to learn about fair housing laws and reduce discrimination in Ashland. State and federal fair housing laws prohibit discriminating against someone based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, familial status, national origin, marital status and source of income. But following fair housing laws — which do not allow landlords to handpick tenants — can, at times, be challenging, several Ashland landlords said…” Continue reading the whole article here
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Uh….you people need to get your facts straight! Before I started spouting information such as this, I would check ALL my facts. Your original source needs to as well. The “Campbells” are not the ones in question. I know them and they don’t even have a rental cottage behind their house!!! They do have two small children and are great folks and community members. Makes you wonder what else the original source has incorrect!!! Lesson….you CAN’T believe everything you read. Shame on you Tribune and Oregon Faith Report!
The key is “qualified”. Set your standards high and apply those standards every time. Set a high (but reasonable) deposit. Decide beforehand what you will and won’t accept in an applicants background and then write those standards down.
Credit score, credit history – do they pay consistently late? are there accounts that went to collection or were charged off? is their debt load too high for their income? Decide ahead of time what credit score is required for approval.
Rental history – do they move frequently? why? if the answer (after talking to previous landlords) is they cause problems you can cite poor rental history references.
Criminal background – do they have any felonies? did you check outside of Oregon?
Employment verification
If you are up front about your application/verification process and charge an application fee, applicants who know they won’t qualify probably won’t waste their money (or your time). Some still will apply hoping something will be overlooked. People with felonies, evictions, or terrible credit are looking for landlords who are too lazy or ignorant to perform background checks…
Chances are if a person is one who gives you an “icky” feeling then something will likely show up in their background that will disqualify them.
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And then some will wonder why there is a lack of affordable, quality housing.
The law should especially exempt those who are renting any part or unit of property at the owner’s primary residence.