Shady Cove, Ore — In part one of an NBC5 News investigation we showed you how Rogue Valley man Ralph Garcia is losing his home, and how it’s all perfectly legal.
We explore the laws surrounding property rentals and why some people are finding themselves looking for a place to live, even though they still hold the deed to their homes.
Under current Oregon law there’s nothing preventing landowners from increasing rental property as long as they provide 90 days notice.
Even if you own your home you can get burned if you don’t own the property it sits on.
“A lot of people going through the same thing we are, it’s beyond belief there is no law to prevent that,” said Ralph Garcia.
Garcia and his 4 children used to live at a double-wide trailer at the Shady Acres Mobile Home Park in Shady Cove. Today they live in subsidized housing.
“It was our dream we were making it beautiful then this happened,” said Garcia.
Garcia says he was forced out of his home when his rent went from $265 to $880 in two years.
“We just got pushed out, no options,” said Garcia.
“This person didn’t do anything wrong, in fact he did many things right,” said Doug McGeary.
So Garcia sought the help of Medford attorney Goug McGeary to defend him in court against the owners of the mobile home park.
“Their argument was just they were trying to make the park what it used to be,” said McGeary.
Citing Oregon law, McGeary argued the land owners were looking to change the purpose of the park, which if proven, would require them to give a year’s notice and reimburse Garcia for his $7,000 dollar trailer.
“If you want to develop the property into an RV resort that’s fine, but our thought was the law required them to give notice and make payment to the homeowner,” said McGeary.
A judge disagreed, and Garcia lost his case, and potentially his home, putting him and his 4 kids among the ranks of thousands of low income families in the county.
“We have 5300 families in Jackson County alone on a waiting list for homes. We have lots of Mr. Garcias,” said Cara Carter with the Housing Authority of Jackson County.
“As long as we were together it was home,” said Garcia.
Garcia’s experience reveals what McGeary calls a loophole in the laws surrounding rental properties and mobile homes.
“What we’ve learned over history is you’re now just wiping a whole low-income section of the area out,” said McGeary.
Without a law putting a cap on rental hikes, families like the Garcia’s have little protection.
“It can’t be fair for my rent to go from $265 to $880, something has to be done to prevent that, it’s beyond belief there is no law to prevent that,” said Garcia.
Garcia is now reaching out to anyone who will listen, to prevent others from sharing his fate and we hope you’re now more informed about what could happen to you.
If you’d like to help families like the Garcia’s, consider contacting your lawmaker about a cap to prevent large rent hikes.
We’ve provided a list of local legislators and their contact information below (Shady Cove is located in Senate District 28, House District 55 and Congressional District 2):
Senator Doug Whitsett
Party: Republican Party
District: 28
Phone: 503-986-1728
Representative Mike McLane
Party: Republican Party
District: 55
Phone: 503-986-1400
Greg Walden
Party: Republican Party
District: Congressional District 2
Phone: 541-389-4408
Senator Herman Baertschiger Jr.
Party: Republican Party
District: 02
Phone: 503-986-1702
Representative Carl Wilson
Party: Republican Party
District: 03
Phone: 503-986-1403
Senator Alan Bates
Party: Democratic Party
District: 03
Phone: 503-986-1703
Representative Peter Buckley
Party: Democratic Party
District: 05
Phone: 503-986-1405
Senator Doug Whitsett
Party: Republican Party
District: 28
Phone: 503-986-1728
Representative Mike McLane
Party: Republican Party
District: 55
Phone: 503-986-1400
Senator Floyd Prozanski
Party: Democratic Party
District: 04
Phone: 503-986-1704
Representative Cedric Hayden
Party: Republican Party
District: 07
Phone: 503-986-1407
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