Elected-in-charge in 2022: Dan Ryan
Bureau or Office Director: Molly Rogers
We are tracking three reports and six recommendations
We are tracking three audits that made six recommendations to the Portland Housing Bureau. The audits assessed short-term rental regulation, the housing bond, and urban renewal in the Lents neighborhood. We reported in 2020 that Housing implemented our recommendation to provide specific information about the underlying rationale for housing bond decisions. Housing has implemented two recommendations, three are in process and one is not implemented.
Highlight from Last Year
We recommended the Housing Bureau obtain short-term rental data from booking agents or from other publicly available sources, monitor and report data, and evaluate effects on housing. Housing obtained short-term rental data from a company that tracks listings of various booking agents and began reporting on the inventory of long-term rental housing in the 2019 State of Housing report. Housing said that it will work to add analysis of the effects of short-term rentals on long-term rentals in future State of Housing reports.
To Do
We recommended that the Housing Bureau emphasize ballot measure commitments and report on service to the priority communities. Initial information from the two completed projects showed they were serving seniors and people with disabilities, although those communities were not specifically targeted for help during project development. The Bureau said it plans to serve seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities in an upcoming project.
Short-Term Rental Regulation: Enforcement is lax and effect on housing is unknown
Report published August 8, 2018 | Follow-up report | Contact KC Jones
Our 2018 audit of Portland’s short-term rental regulation found that only about 22 percent of units were registered, and the effect on housing availability and affordability was unknown. We made recommendations to improve data collection and enforcement and monitor the effect of short-term rentals on the housing market. In 2019 the City reported that it reached a data-sharing and registration agreement with a key rental agent and passed an ordinance requiring compliance from all agents. In 2020, the City made progress using publicly available rental data to enforce restrictions on hosts with multiple listings and hosts in commercial areas. However, the Bureau of Development Services was still developing software that will be used to analyze the data and enforce the rental registrations. The Housing Bureau started reporting on short-term rental activity but still needs to work on measuring its impact on the housing market.
On this audit there were two recommendations in process.
Portland Housing Bond: Early implementation results mostly encouraging
Report published June 19, 2019| Follow-up report | Contact Martha Prinz
The City promised voters in 2016 that a $258.4 million housing bond would serve seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. Our 2019 audit found that the Portland Housing Bureau didn't adequately include those groups in project selection criteria, but the project selection criteria it used appeared to be applied consistently. We also found that outreach aimed at getting tenants into City-owned affordable units used a targeted approach, with early data showing two completed bond projects serving diverse populations. We followed up on two outstanding recommendations the Bureau said were in process at the one-year mark. The Bureau did not encourage developers and property owners to attract seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, but said that one project was slated to serve those populations.
On this audit there was one recommendation implemented, one in process, and one not implemented.
Lents Urban Renewal: 20 years of investment with minimal evaluation
Report published February 12, 2020 | Follow-up report | Contact: Minh Dan Vuong
Our 2020 audit found that Prosper Portland's and the Housing Bureau's investments in Lents had mixed results when compared against the City's ambitious goals. Prosper Portland had not comprehensively assessed or reported how its investments, totaling more than $200 million since 2001, changed Lents.
On this audit there was one recommendation implemented.
Not Implemented Recommendation Details
We recommended the Housing Bureau evaluate the effectiveness of actions to reach housing bond target populations for non-City-owned projects. This was important because the City was transitioning away from owning housing and counting on other entities to meet the bond's goals. At the time of the audit, the Bureau had not developed a plan to ensure groups the bond was intended to serve received housing. The Bureau said it planned to require potential developers and property owners to do outreach to seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, but it did not do so. Additional documents prepared by the Bureau as projects moved along also did not include each of the populations prioritized by the bond measure. (Portland Housing Bond: Early implementation results mostly encouraging)
In Process Recommendation Details
We recommended the Housing Bureau work with Council to add measuring the effects of short-term rentals on its housing goals to City Code and regulations. Housing began reporting on the inventory of long-term rental housing in the 2019 State of Housing report and continued to report it annually since then. Staff said that they would continue to work with Council to create goals related to short-term rentals. (Short-Term Rental Regulation: Enforcement is lax and effect on housing is unknown)
We recommended the Housing Bureau obtain short-term rental data from booking agents or from other publicly available sources, monitor and report data, and evaluate effects on housing. Housing obtained short-term rental data from a company that tracks listings of various booking agents and began reporting on the inventory of long-term rental housing in the 2019 State of Housing report. Housing said that it will work to add analysis of the effects of short-term rentals on long-term rentals in future State of Housing reports. (Short-Term Rental Regulation: Enforcement is lax and effect on housing is unknown)
We recommended that the Housing Bureau emphasize bond ballot measure commitments and report on service to the priority communities. Initial information from the two completed projects showed they were serving seniors and people with disabilities, although those communities were not specifically targeted for help during project development. The Bureau said it plans to serve seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities in an upcoming project. (Portland Housing Bond: Early implementation results mostly encouraging)
Implemented Recommendation Details
We recommended providing specific information about the underlying rationale for housing bond decisions. The Housing Bureau produced an annual report, quarterly newsletters, and a press release to inform the public and other stakeholders of bond activities. The Bureau's project descriptions on the housing bond website make the rationale for each project clearer than we found in our 2019 audit. The Bureau also developed new reporting templates to be used in quarterly reporting to its Bond Oversight Committee. (Portland Housing Bond: Early implementation results mostly encouraging)
We recommended that the Housing Bureau continue to periodically measure economic results for the goals they have set, update goals as needed, and report progress to the public. The Housing Bureau regularly measures and reports on all city policies and goals in the annual state of housing report, including the tangible Lents Tax Increment Financing affordable housing goals. Housing is spending down the remainder of Lents urban renewal funds and is unlikely to make changes to goals and projects funded. Housing has not reported updated progress against economic goals. (Lents Urban Renewal: 20 years of investment with minimal evaluation)
Data Notes
At the end of every audit report, we issue a series of recommendations intended to make programs work even better. This report includes the status of Bureau recommendations since 2018, which was the beginning of our new follow-up process. We prepared it with a few audiences in mind:
- City Council can use it to identify bureaus that may need additional resources or support in order to implement recommendations.
- Bureau directors can use it to assess bureau performance and to determine if any changes in policy or procedure are necessary.
- Bureau management and staff can use it to track recommendation status across audits to develop work plans and priorities.
- General public can use it to monitor the status of recommendations related to topics of interest and to compare performance across bureaus.
This report includes recommendation status as of December 31, 2022.
Translated reports
Most reports are available in four languages: Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Russian. We are translating new reports as they’re released, but older reports may not be available in a language other than English. If you would like to request a translated version of a report, please contact KC Jones.
Links
- Short-Term Rental Regulation: Enforcement is lax and effect on housing is unknown
- Portland Housing Bond: Early implementation results mostly encouraging
- Lents Urban Renewal: 20 years of investment with minimal evaluation