Bend residents share their experiences with rising rent prices, housing challenges with city committee

(Update: Adding video, comments from city, residents and Rooted Homes)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend community members shared their experiences with housing instability and high rents with the city's Affordable Housing Advisory Committee by invitation on Wednesday afternoon.

The meeting was an opportunity for the community to share their experiences and offer ideas that could ease “rent burden” in Bend and address housing stability.

According to American Community Survey estimates for 2017-2021, 25.5% of Bend’s renters were severely rent burdened and have a very difficult time paying for their housing each month, despite a limit on yearly rent increases.

We asked on our Facebook page about people's problems with rent burden, and over 200 commenters said they are rent burdened to some degree.

Residents at the meeting voiced their concern for their future in Bend.

"My landlord has been awesome, up until recently," a woman said. "And right now we each pay $900, which is still strenuous, I would say that that is 30% of my income, for sure. And even though it's illegal, he would like to raise my rent to $2,500 a month."

City Affordable Housing Director Rachael Baker said, "We would take that information and our Affordable Housing Advisory Committee would make recommendations to the council that has appointed them with regards to how to address these issues that are raised today.

Rent burden is defined by looking at the percentage of one’s income spent on housing costs. If someone pays more than 30% of their income on housing, they are considered rent burdened. If someone pays more than 50% of their income on housing, they are considered severely rent burdened.

Paying too much for housing may lead to financial insecurity, since households often forego other necessary expenses to maintain housing.

"They often have to make up, just to be eligible for an apartment, two or three times what the rent is," Baker said. "And that is where many of our community members are having difficulty getting into apartments or getting into housing."

In 2018, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 4006, which mandated cities conduct a public meeting and discuss rent burden causes and potential solutions when 25 percent or more households of cities with populations greater than 10,000 experience severe rent burden.

Representatives of organizations including Rooted Homes, NeighborImpact and Thrive Central Oregon spoke at the meeting, sharing how their efforts related to housing are helping the community -- but also saying that much more is needed to keep or get people into stable housing they can afford.

Jackie Keogh, executive director of Rooted Homes, said, "Unless we change systemic issues in the City of Bend, in terms of (building) permitting times and land-use decisions, we never will make up for the number of people who are rent burdened and the number of units that we can develop."

Rooted Homes has been providing houses at a reduced price for residents who apply and win their lottery.

"Rooted Homes opened a housing lottery this past May," Keogh said. "We had 300 people (who) applied for seven homes. That in itself just showcases the enormous need in our community and the unmet need, despite our best efforts."

 Community members can watch the recorded meeting via YouTube.

 More information about Bend's affordable housing efforts can be found at this page on the city website.