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Renters Rights Highlighted In State Capitol Rally

Supporters of legislation meant to protect renters held a rally at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
Supporters of legislation meant to protect renters held a rally at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

If a group that rallied at the state capitol in Salem Thursday has its way, Oregon lawmakers will take up two major pieces of legislation designed to improve rights for renters next year.

Advocates say they want to limit the amount of money landlords could increase rent each year and they want to make it harder for landlords to evict tenants.

Anna Blackman is a Certified Nurses Assistant who lives in Springfield, Oregon. She said she and her husband were kicked out of their home with little warning.

"I had a landlord that gave us notice simply because we were not getting along with our neighbors,” Blackman said. “She said we were very good tenants but she didn't want to deal with the problems with the bad neighbors that we had."

The possible legislation has received the backing of Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek. Housing developers are expected to oppose the measures.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.