New Portland policy requires payment for no-cause evictions

PORTLAND — A new policy requires Portland landlords to pay tenants they evict without cause or force to move as a result of increased rent.

The City Council unanimously passed the housing policy Thursday, reported The Oregonian/OregonLive. The rule requires landlords to pay $2,900 to $4,500 to tenants evicted without cause or who have to move because of a rent increase of 10 percent or more in one year. Landlords who rent only one dwelling in Portland will be exempt.

The policy was introduced by new Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, a housing advocate. It will take effect immediately and apply to all tenants, including those who have received a 90-day eviction notice within the last 89 days.

“This legislation provides us a chance to maintain stability with our families and gives us a chance to not be insignificant to the powers that be,” said Coya Crespin, a mother of two who is worried about receiving a no-cause eviction from the new management at her apartment complex. “All we’re asking for is a chance to stay in our neighborhoods.”

Before voting on the rule, commissioners heard five hours of testimony, mostly from renters and landlords.

Tenants said no-cause evictions disrupt hard-working families and children’s education. Landlords argued that the council should table the proposal, saying the City Council failed to consult all stakeholders, to distinguish mom-and-pop landlords from outside investors or to consider that the rule may cause small landlords to sell their property, further limiting the city’s housing supply.

But Eudaly said the rule is necessary to address a housing emergency in Portland.

“I cannot assert enough this is a temporary emergency ordinance,” she said. “It is not ideal. It is not perfect. This is the only tool the city of Portland has to protect renters and we are using it.”