City Code Section
- In order to be considered for an exemption under this Chapter, an applicant must verify by oath or affirmation in the application that the proposed construction will meet the following requirements and public benefits upon completion of construction:
- A. Property.
- 1. Single-unit housing must be located within the City;
- 2. Each qualified dwelling unit in the single-unit housing must have a market value at the time of completion of no more than the amount determined annually by Portland Housing Bureau according to ORS 307.651(3) and 307.661;
- 3. Construction of the single-unit housing must be completed according to ORS 307.651(3)(b), except as provided in ORS 307.677;
- 4. Each qualified dwelling unit must have at least three bedrooms unless built within an approved transit-oriented area as determined by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and included on the map defining eligibility areas where two-bedroom homes are allowed, which is available as an appendix to the administrative rules; and
- 5. The single-unit housing must comply with all other planning and zoning requirements under the Portland City Code.
- B. Affordability.
- 1. Each dwelling unit of the single-unit housing must be sold to a household with an annual gross household income not greater than one hundred percent of the area median income for a family of four as determined annually for the Portland Metropolitan Area by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which income may be adjusted upward for households with more than four persons.
- 2. For applications received by PHB prior to March 1, 2024, each dwelling unit of the single-unit housing must be sold to a household with an annual gross household income not greater than one hundred twenty percent of the area median income for a family of four as determined annually for the Portland Metropolitan Area by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which income may be adjusted upward for households with more than four persons so long as the single-unit housing sells to a qualified homebuyer prior to July 1, 2026.
- 3. For the purposes of this program, household income is the annual gross income of the titleholder who will occupy the dwelling unit.
- C. Owner-occupancy.
- 1. Once sold to the initial buyer, the dwelling unit must remain owner-occupied as the principal residence of the titleholder receiving the tax exemption during the tax exemption period;
- 2. Hardship exception to the owner-occupancy requirement may be granted by the Portland Housing Bureau in accordance with its policies. Such hardship exceptions may include, but are not limited to, the following circumstances:
- a. Active military duty outside of the area;
- b. Temporary relocation to care for an ill or dying family member; or
- c. Temporary relocation caused by an employer; and
- 3. The single-unit housing may not be rented at any time during the exemption period.
- D. Equity.
- 1. Applicant must acknowledge familiarity with Portland Housing Bureau’s Minority, Women, and Emerging Small Businesses (MWESB) guidelines and contracting opportunity goals, and report on past contracting relationships.
- 2. Applicant must acknowledge awareness and understanding of Portland Housing Bureau’s Guiding Principles on Equity and Social Justice and Strategic Priority of Helping Portlanders from Communities of Color buy a home and agree to partner with Portland Housing Bureau to ensure that communities of color are aware of properties for sale with exemptions.
- E. Green Building. The new construction must be built to meet healthy and resource efficient environmental building standards.
- F. Application fee. The applicant must pay an application fee determined by the Portland Housing Bureau as described in ORS 307.674 (5).