The Oregon House of Representatives passed HB 2004A this week, which would allow either cities or counties in Oregon to implement rent stabilization. The bill allows rent control that caps the amount rents can go up annually. The practice has been banned by the state since the early 1980s. The bill would also ban most no-cause evictions from apartment properties in the state.

The measure passed mostly on partisan lines. House Democrats released a statement that began: "Today the Oregon House of Representatives took a major step to protect tenants from extreme rent increases and no-cause evictions — practices which have become more common in hot housing markets around the state."

House Republicans released their own statement, which said "... the legislation would exacerbate Oregon’s housing crisis by pushing property owners out of the rental market and shrinking the supply of available units, discouraging property owners from reinvesting in their own units by restricting their ability to turn a profit, and subjecting Oregon’s rental market to a patchwork of complicated regulations."

The bill passed the chamber 31-27, and now goes to the Oregon Senate.