OAR 125-060-0000: State Agency Housing Provided to State Officers or Employees

(1) As required by ORS 182.415 to 182.425, every state agency that provides housing for its officers or employees shall collect a rental for such housing. An exception is allowed in cases where employment contracts, signed prior to December 1, 1977, provide for free housing, until such original contracts expire or the incumbent leaves the position; or where express statutory authority exists which provides exemptions from ORS 182.425. (2) Definitions: As used in this rule, unless the context requires otherwise: (a) “Furnishings” includes furniture usually used in connection with occupancy of a household but does not include rugs, draperies, range, refrigerator, washer, dryer or any item of furnishings received by the state or one of its agencies as a gift, nor does it include any furniture purchased for the state-owned residence required in relation to the official duties of an institutional executive or the Chancellor of the Department of Higher Education prior to September 9, 1971; (b) “Housing” includes single and multiple family dwellings, apartments, and mobile homes and mobile home pads, available for tenancy on a monthly or other basis but does not include guard stations maintained by the State Forestry Department or dormitory facilities at any state institution or at any state institution of higher education; (c) “Dormitory” includes any facility which houses students and those facilities used primarily for sleeping purposes by the employees of the Mental Health Division; (d) “State Agency” means every state officer, board, commission, department, institution, branch or agency of the state government, whose costs are paid wholly or in part from funds held in the State Treasury, except the Legislative Assembly, the courts and their officers and committees, and except the Secretary of State and the State Treasurer in the performance of the duties of their constitutional offices; (e) “Utilities and Services” include heat, electricity, gas, oil, telephone, water, sewer, garbage, lawn care, laundry, linens, bedding, and towels used for any state agency provided housing. (3) Every state agency that provides housing for its officers or employees shall: (a) Examine and periodically re-examine the fair market rental value as determined by a qualified appraiser certified under ORS 308.010, when the agency determines that market conditions have changed to require it, but not less frequently than once every five years. In determining the fair market rental value, the appraisal shall consider all market factors unique to each housing unit including the value of utilities and services if provided or paid for by the owning agency; (b) Collect a rental for such housing based on the fair market rental value, subject to any applicable rental reductions authorized under the schedule provided in this rule; (c) Deposit such rental collected to the agency’s account; (d) Review the net rental rate annually and make such adjustment, if any, as may be determined from changes in the local rental housing market conditions; (e) Provide no furnishings as a part of any housing provided by the agency; (f) Determine whether or to what extent the agency will provide utilities and services for each housing unit. (4) Whenever a state agency provides housing to anyone of its officers or employees, it shall keep a record of these arrangements, including the bases for rental charge and rental reductions and make reports available upon request. (5) In determining whether reductions are necessary, each state agency that provides housing for its officers or employees shall consider factors such as isolation, invasion of the officer or employee's privacy, the agency's justifiable need for having its officers or employees occupy the housing in a specific location and inequities between the fair rental value as determined under ORS182.425(1) and the salary of the officer or employee occupying the housing. The extent of rental reductions for each housing may be determined by the agency by applying the schedule of reductions provided under sections (6) to (9) of this rule, and records shall be kept which will indicate reasons or justifications for any rental reductions applied. (6) Reduction for the state agency need to have its officers or employees occupy such housing at such locations as it exists may not be more than 50 percent of the fair rental value, and the specific amount by which the rent is to be reduced shall be determined by the state agency providing such housing by applying the following standards: (a) Residence in such housing is a part of the job requirement as evidenced by contract or position description, and not offered as an incentive or a fringe benefit to the resident state employee -- 50 percent reduction; (b) Residence in such housing is not a job-related requirement but is a distinct advantage to the agency by having the officer or employee live close to the job in case of an emergency, and for a general protection to the public property in the area -- 20 percent reduction; (c) Residence in such housing is not a job requirement. The only advantage to the agency is for the residence to be occupied to reduce the chance of vandalism and deterioration -- 10 percent reduction; (d) Residence in such housing is not a job requirement, nor is it for the benefit of the agency. It is solely for the convenience or by choice of the occupant -- no reduction. (7) Reduction for invasion of privacy of the resident of such housing shall be not more than 30 percent from the fair rental value, and the specific amount by which the rent is to be reduced shall be determined by the state agency providing such housing by applying the following standards: (a) The housing or a significant part of it is used for a public office or public business, including such official functions as frequent receptions, dinners or other entertainment functions for the agency related guests; or is so located that invasion of privacy is considered the expected or the invited affair by the public or the state institutional residents -- 30 percent reduction. "Frequent" here means at least once per week on a yearly average; (b) Public is not invited and invasion is not the usual occurrence, but the residence's location or the architecture plainly indicates its state ownership with little or no restriction on public or the state institutional client traffic -- 20 percent reduction; (c) Invasion of privacy is an occasional or seasonal occurrence, and some restriction to public traffic is applied -- 10 percent reduction; (d) Invasion of privacy is no more than that which would be expected for an average privately owned residence -- no reduction. (8) Reduction for isolation of the resident shall be not more than 20 percent of fair rental value. Such reduction may be in addition to any rental value adjustment which may have been considered in the appraisal determined under subsection (3)(a) of this rule. To evaluate the isolation factor, the state agency may consider factors such as distance from the nearest full-service community, difficult road conditions or services, a public presence so substantial that the resident's family is forced to retreat within the walls of their home, or conditions that make friends and neighbors reluctant to socialize and visit because of institutional inmate activities, or the stigma attached to a state institution. A rent reduction may be allowed for such isolation according to the following standards: (a) The housing is located in an isolated area, which is defined as being more than 50 miles or 90 minutes travel by automobile, one way, from the nearest full-service community, or the travel conditions are usually severe or hazardous. A full-service community is to be defined as one complete with supermarket, department store, medical doctor, dentist, church, school, etc.; or if the resident employee's family is isolated socially by public pressure or by the institutional atmosphere to the point where the family is primarily confined within the walls of the home, or friends refuse to come to such housing to socialize -- 20 percent reduction; (b) The housing is located 30 to 50 miles or 60 to 90 minutes travel time, one way, from the nearest full-service community, or the travel conditions are seasonally severe or hazardous, or location or institutional atmosphere tends to reduce the residents' freedom of socialization with neighbors -- 15 percent reduction; (c) The housing is located about 10 to 30 miles or 30 to 60 minutes travel time, one way, from the nearest full-service community, the travel conditions are seldom severe or hazardous, and there is little or no restriction on socialization -- 10 percent reduction; (d) The housing is located within ten miles and not over 30 minutes travel one way from the nearest full-service community, and there is no restraint on socialization from any institutional activity or atmosphere -- no reduction. (9) When the officer or employee is required by the agency to occupy state provided housing as a condition of employment, agencies may apply a rental reduction for unique conditions not previously discussed in sections (6) through (8) of this rule according to the following standards: (a) As a unique condition, when a reduction from the fair market rental value is needed by the agency to establish a uniform rental schedule for like houses provided in different locations by a single agency to enable intra-agency geographical transfers of employees -- reduction to the extent necessary and reasonable to establish a uniform rental schedule; (b) As a unique condition, when a reduction from the fair market rental value is needed to correct inequities between the fair market rental value of housing and the salary of the officer or employee occupying the residence -- reduction to the extent necessary and reasonable; (c) As a unique condition, when a reduction from the fair market rental value is needed because of unique conditions in the state's title to the property such as when housing is received by the state or one of its agencies as a gift for the free use of a specified state officer or employee and where a valid right of reverter exists -- for the use by the state officer or employee, a reduction up to 100 percent of the fair market rental value; (d) Other factors not previously considered in the reduction schedule may be considered unique conditions when necessary and justifiable for the agency's effective program management -- a reduction up to 20 percent. (Factors reflecting only employee convenience or comfort, without a corresponding impact on the agency's program management, shall not be considered unique conditions). (10) The rental reductions authorized in sections (5) through (9) of this rule, when combined, may be up to 100 percent of the fair market rental value, when justified.