Portland, OR — Today, Portland City Councilors Mitch Green (District 4) and Candace Avalos (District 1) introduced a landmark resolution to explore social housing models as a solution to the city’s ongoing housing affordability crisis. The resolution, presented to the Homelessness and Housing Committee, was approved with four votes and will advance to the full City Council for consideration in April. If adopted, the resolution will direct the City Administrator to study social housing models and deliver a comprehensive report by May 2026.
Social housing, a model in which housing is owned and managed by the public or non-profit entities with a focus on affordability and community benefit, has gained traction as a proven solution to housing crises in cities worldwide. The resolution highlights the urgent need for such models in Portland, where skyrocketing rents and home prices have displaced long-time residents and exacerbated homelessness. Despite previous efforts to address affordability through market-based solutions, such as incentives for private developers, the city continues to face a severe shortage of affordable housing.
“The scale of the problem is too great for us to rely on passive, market-based solutions,” said Councilor Mitch Green. “It's time for Portland to go big and tackle our housing shortage head on. Social housing offers a real, sustainable solution by prioritizing people over profits.”
Councilor Candace Avalos emphasized the need for innovative thinking when it comes to housing. “The way that we have been housing our humans is just not working. We have to try something new,” said Avalos. “This is an opportunity to actually bring to the people an affordable model for housing.”
While the councilors acknowledge that this effort is only the first step toward implementing social housing in Portland, the process will ensure that any future policies are effective, equitable, and tailored to the city’s unique needs. By studying social housing models in places like Seattle, Vienna, and Montgomery County, Maryland, Portland aims to learn from best practices and adapt them to local contexts.
Helmi Hisserich, director of the Portland Housing Bureau, will be tasked with heading up the study. Having spent almost two years in Vienna studying the social housing model in place there, it’s a subject she is deeply familiar with. “To put it simply, it is housing that is non-market, and is permanently affordable,” said Hisserich.
“My goal is passing a social housing policy that will be the envy of the West Coast,” said Green. “And to do that, it's important to get the institutional design right. I'm excited to work directly with the Portland Housing Bureau to craft the program that works best for Portland.”
Social housing has long been championed by housing advocates, community organizations, and residents who see it as critical to combating Portland’s housing crisis. “Half of all renters in Portland pay more than 30% of their income in rent. 25% of all renters here pay more than half of their income in rent. That’s not a tenable situation,” said TJ Noddings, a tenants rights advocate, and co-chair of the Portland Democratic Socialists of America’s housing working group. “What we need desperately, more than anything else, is a real solution to our housing crisis, and that solution is Social Housing.”
The full City Council is expected to vote on the resolution in April. If approved, the City Administrator’s report will be delivered in May 2026, paving the way for implementation of social housing policies in Portland.