It’s easy to dislike an out-of-state company that buys a building in Portland and evicts the tenants. However, AEG Holdings is providing more than twice the notice required to evict tenants, and it plans to renovate.

Much of the negative press regarding landlords in Portland has criticized landlords’ unwillingness to improve their properties. So this move by the new owners could be a positive step for future tenants.

I have been a landlord for five years. My rental income pays for the mortgage on the property, improvements, repairs and maintenance. My plan is to be mortgage-free by the time I retire, and to have rental income to support me during retirement.

Changing laws regarding evictions and rent controls scare me. Already, most laws favor tenants’ rights over landlords’.

For example, I had a couple stop payment on their last two rent checks, and then disappear. I am trying to serve papers for small claims court, but cannot do so because I do not have a forwarding address for them. I can hire a lawyer, but that would add to the $2,500 that I am owed and does not guarantee that I will receive compensation.

My situation is not unique, or even unusual. Landlords incur extra costs frequently: damage beyond the amount of the security deposit, or unpaid utility bills or rent. Tenants sometimes retaliate against landlords during disputes.

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Generally, it is in both parties’ interest to have as little turnover in an apartment as possible. Tenants usually want to avoid the hassle of moving, and landlords want to avoid the interviewing process. Every time a tenant moves out, I lose income.

Being a landlord is unpredictable. Property issues, tenant turnover, tax increases and the rental market are out of a landlord’s control. Laws need to protect landlords as well as tenants.

Jody Huntington

Portland


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