Corvallis has the dubious honor of being the most rent-burdened city in the state of Oregon, according to the Oregon Housing & Community Services. About 37% of renters are spending half or more of their monthly income on rent. As of 2021, a family earning minimum wage would need to work 84.5 hours a week in order to afford a 2-bedroom apartment. That would be around 12 hours a day if you also worked weekends.
The city’s Community Development page says that the “Housing and Urban Development Act defines “affordable” housing as any housing that costs… 30% or less of household income, and those with housing expenditures that exceed 30% are defined as cost burdened and those with housing expenditures that exceed 50% are defined as severely cost burdened.”
Oregon law states that when a city has over 25% of its renters classified as severely rent-burdened, the city must hold a public meeting on the topic. As such, Corvallis will be hosting an hour-long webinar on Tuesday, Nov. 16, from 6 to 7 p.m.
This webinar will discuss “…the causes, barriers, and consequences of rent burden that were previously identified by our local community members and will offer an interim update on local resources and recent state legislation that are aimed at addressing this important issue.”
Those interested in attending can register here.
The Advocate has previously hosted a CitySpeak on this topic back in November of 2019, summarized in this article.
By Jalen Todd
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