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Lawmakers hear support for $5 million insurance relief for affordable housing providers
Summary
Advocates and housing stakeholders urged the Senate Committee on Housing and Development to back Senate Bill 829, which would create a $5 million fund to help affordable housing owners cover sharply rising property insurance costs and study longer-term solutions.
Kathleen Swift, senior vice president and nonprofit development officer at Heritage Bank, Ryan Fisher of the Housing Authorities of Oregon and Jonathan Clay of Multifamily Northwest told the Senate Committee on Housing and Development on March 31 that rising property insurance rates are destabilizing affordable housing providers and urged support for Senate Bill 829.
“There have never been enough funds to fill, the need for affordable housing,” Kathleen Swift said, describing decades of layered financing and recent cost pressures from inflation and rising interest rates that have increased complexity for preserving affordable units.
The bill as discussed in testimony would allocate $5,000,000 to help mitigate sharp increases in property insurance costs faced by affordable housing providers. Jonathan Clay, representing Multifamily Northwest, said SB 829 dash 1 proposes a $5,000,000 fund and directs the Department of Consumer and Business Services to study options including the feasibility of a reinsurance program and evaluating commercial and surplus lines coverage accessible to multifamily and affordable housing entities in Oregon.
Ryan Fisher, speaking on behalf of the Housing Authorities of Oregon, said insurance has “dominated” discussions among housing authority directors over the last three years and described recent wildfire and market-driven trends that have pushed premiums far beyond historical expectations.
The three witnesses described property insurance as a mounting operational cost that can push otherwise viable affordable properties into financial distress. Clay also requested consideration of including naturally occurring affordable housing and market-rate housing in program eligibility, noting premiums are rising across the sector.
The committee did not take action on SB 829 at the March 31 session; the hearing was opened to receive postponed public testimony and then closed.
Ending: The committee closed the public hearing on SB 829 after the speakers finished; no committee vote was recorded during the session.
