Oregon’s current housing crisis affects people from all walks of life, but one of the groups most susceptible to no-cause evictions is college students. Often living with month-to-month leases, their school schedules can keep them from working enough to afford a sudden move.

This is the problem UO philosophy student Aurora Laybourn-Candlish explores in her op-ed piece in The Register-Guard in support of House Bill 2004A, which would prohibit landlords from terminating month-to-month tenancy without cause after the first six months of occupancy.

“Given the nature of ‘no-cause’ evictions, students can do little to prevent them and absolutely nothing to challenge them,” Laybourn-Candlish writes. “Further, students face displacement if they receive double-digit rent increases they can’t pay on their fixed income.”

She uses her own experiences as an example of the effect an eviction can have on a student, talking about how she was given 30 days to move out during finals week and had to skip classes and studying work enough to pay for her new security deposit.

For the whole article, see “Tenant Rights bill provides stability for students.”

In her time at the UO, Laybourn-Candlish has worked to secure tuition equity, prevent sexual violence and ensure access to reproductive rights and sex education.