April 20, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
FAIR HOUSING
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
SPECIAL SECTION
Portland Housing
Bureau
T
he Portland Hous-
ing Bureau will be
accepting
N/NE
H o m e o w n e r sh i p
Applications for Prefer-
ence from Monday, May
2, 2016 through Friday,
May 13, 2016.
Recognizing that past
City actions have mar-
ginalized and displaced
many longtime residents
“
these areas online. Note:
The Preference Policy
determines the order
of applicants on wait-
ing lists for housing,
not their eligibility for
housing programs. Visit
PHB’s website, https://
w w w.portlandoregon.
gov/phb/, for eligibility
requirements.
How does it work?
Whenever PHB hous-
The Portland Housing Bu-
reau (PHB) developed a pref-
erence policy to prioritize
households with generation-
al ties to N/NE Portland
of North and Northeast
Portland, the Portland
Housing Bureau (PHB)
developed the Affordable
Housing Preference Pol-
icy as a tool to prioritize
impacted households for
PHB housing opportuni-
ties in the area. The Pref-
erence Policy aims to ad-
dress the ongoing impact
of this legacy by giving
priority to households
with generational ties
to N/NE Portland—i.e.:
current and former res-
idents of specific areas
that were subject to high
levels of urban renewal,
and their descendants.
you can view maps of
ing (including rental
housing and ownership
homes, or down payment
assistance) in N/NE Port-
land becomes available,
PHB will advertise an
open application round
for households to apply
to receive preference
for those openings. Top
priority will be given to
households (and their
descendants) who owned
property that was taken
by Portland City govern-
ment — during the build-
ing of Memorial Colise-
um or the expansion of
Emanuel Hospital, for ex-
See APPLICATIONS on page 10
PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER
Housing Bureau to
Begin Accepting
Applications for
Preference
Portland Housing Bureau Awards $47
Million for Affordable Housing Projects
Portland Housing Bureau
T
he Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) has award-
ed approximately $47 million in local and fed-
eral funds to eight proposed affordable hous-
ing projects. The six new developments and
two renovation projects come as a result of the Bu-
reau’s 2015 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA),
released last October, which made an unprece-
dented $61.6 million, 100 Project-Based Section 8
vouchers, and five publicly owned sites available
for affordable housing proposals.
PHB estimates the award will result in 585 new
units of affordable housing — and will preserve
another 255 through renovation projects—includ-
ing more than 120 total units for the lowest-income
households (those earning up to 30 percent of the
Median Family Income, currently $15,400 a year
for an individual and $24,300 for a family of four).
“Taken together, these eight projects respond
to the urgency of the housing emergency for the
most vulnerable Portlanders, and integrate the
kinds of services and programs that will bring
greater security and long-term solutions to those
most in need,” said Commissioner Dan Saltzman,
who oversees the Portland Housing Bureau.
“I commend the Housing Bureau for stretching
itself and its resources to get here, and I commend
our proposers for the creativity and resourceful-
ness they brought to meet the challenges we face.”
Citing the city’s housing emergency, Commis-
sioner Saltzman directed PHB last fall to deploy all
of its available resources, including urban renew-
al dollars budgeted for future years.
The 2015 NOFA also featured unprecedented co-
ordination among local public agencies, with land
and other resources contributed by Multnomah
County, the Portland Development Commission,
and Home Forward.
Beyond financing considerations, the eight proj-
ects were selected according to their alignment
with several current housing initiatives, including
the N/NE Neighborhood Housing Strategy and the
A Home for Everyone plan to end homelessness, as
well as how they proposed to serve priority pop-
ulations such as homeless families with children.
Additionally, the three developments planned
for North and Northeast Portland, which are ex-
pected to bring nearly 200 new affordable units
to the area, will prioritize longtime and displaced
residents of the N/NE Portland community for
housing through the City’s new preference policy,
which was unveiled earlier this month and will ac-
cept applications in May.
What You Should Know About Portland’s
New Renter Protections
By The Skanner News
PHOTO BY BRETT VA (CC BY 3.0) VIA FLICKR
I
n October the Portland City Coun-
cil voted to adopt an ordinance in-
creasing the required notice peri-
od for no-cause evictions and for
rent increases of 5 percent or more.
It states:
• A landlord may terminate a rent-
al agreement without cause only
by delivering a written notice of
termination not less than 90 days
before the termination date, or
the time period designated in the
act, whichever is longer. This re-
quirement does not apply to rental
agreements for week-to-week ten-
ancies or to tenants that occupy
the same dwelling unit as the land-
lord;
• A landlord may not increase a
tenant’s rent or associated hous-
ing costs by 5 percent or more over
a 12-month period unless the land-
lord gives notice in writing to each
affected tenant at least 90 days pri-
or to the effective date of the rent
increase, or the time period des-
ignated in the rental agreement,
whichever is longer.
• Notices of rent increases must
specify the amount of the increase,
the amount of the new rent or as-
sociated housing costs and the
date it becomes effective.
• A landlord who fails to comply
these requirements will be liable
to the tenant for an amount up to
three months’ rent as well as actual
damages, attorney fees and costs.
• A resident of Oregon can file a
complaint with any of the follow-
ing organizations Fair Housing
Council of Oregon (FHCO), Legal
Aid Services of Oregon (LASO),
Department of Justice (DOJ), Bu-
reau of Labor and Industry (BOLI),
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD). The City Attorney and
the Housing Bureau refer Fair
Housing complaints to any of the
organizations named above, and
landlord tenant complaints to the
Community Alliance of Tenants.
The ordinance also imposed new
regulations on owners of federal
preservation projects. If owners de-
See RENT on page 10