Each time Coya Crespin crosses the St. Johns Bridge, she knows she’s home. She lives with her six-year-old daughter and five-month-old son in a St. Johns apartment that she’s called home for five years.
That could soon change. A California-based property management company bought her apartment complex in October. They’ve started handing out no-cause eviction notices to the more than 50 families living there.
Thanks to a Portland housing policy introduced by housing advocate and new Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and passed unanimously by the City Council on Thursday, that company will now have to pay the tenants it evicts without cause.
The rule requires landlords to pay $2,900 to $4,500 to tenants whom they evict without cause or who have to move as a result of a rent increase of 10 percent or more in one year.
“This legislation provides us a chance to maintain stability with our families, gives us a chance to not be insignificant to the powers that be,” Crespin said. “All we’re asking for is a chance to stay in our neighborhoods.”
The policy will take effect immediately and apply to all tenants, including those who have received a 90-day eviction notice within the last 89 days.
Landlords renting to tenants on a weekly basis, renting rooms in their living space or renting to tenants with the understanding that the landlord will return after a three years away will be exempt from paying relocation costs. Landlords who rent only one property will also be exempt.
An amendment to the policy directs the Housing Bureau to create a group of stakeholders to propose fixes to the policy. This responsibility will be passed on to the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs suggested by the Housing Bureau in its proposed budget.
The work group will revisit amendments introduced and adopted Wednesday to determine whether or not they address unintended hardships on landlords. That includes exempting landlords that own only one property or that hope to return to their property after time away.
“I do believe this will have unintended consequences, and we’ll have some time to see that,” Commissioner Amanda Fritz said.
Eudaly acknowledged that the policy is an imperfect but necessary first step to address Portland’s housing emergency.
“I cannot assert enough this is a temporary emergency ordinance,” Eudaly 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.”
This post will be updated.
–Jessica Floum
jfloum@oregonian.com
503-221-8306
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