Two Steps Forward: Promoting Inclusive Infill Development with Middle Housing by Right and Increased Protections for Tenants

Abstract

Idealization of the single-family detached home and of separation of land uses—and, ultimately, of separation of people by income, race, and ethnicity—contributed significantly to the disappearance in the United States of a range of housing types that had served a larger demographic of renters and buyers. These housing types are referred to as “middle housing” because they consist of multi-unit or clustered housing types with densities greater than a lot containing a single residential home and less than a lot containing a large apartment building. They are referred to as "missing" because, since the 1940s, residential zoning law throughout the United States has stymied their development and facilitated a shift to auto-dependent patterns of development and large swaths of land in U.S. cities dedicated exclusively to single-family detached homes on relatively large lots.

Recognizing how these development patterns contribute to Oregon's housing affordability crisis and housing inequity, the 2019 legislative cycle in Oregon led to the passage of three bills: Oregon House Bills 2001 and 2003, and Oregon Senate Bill 608. This article focuses on HB 2001 and SB 608.

Oregon House Bill 2001 addresses “missing middle” housing by essentially requiring all Oregon cities to allow some form of middle housing as of right in areas that allow single-family homes. In addition to providing for middle housing by right, HB 2001 included requirements and resources to help local governments overcome some of the barriers to the development of affordable middle housing.

The state addressed affordability for renters head on in Oregon Senate Bill 608. SB 608 amended the state’s landlord tenant law to add a just-cause requirement for landlords to terminate a tenancy and limit the maximum rent increases allowed during a one-year period.

Keywords: zoning, land use, fair housing, affordable housing, middle housing, housing equity, landlord, tenant