191921

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1. The Council finds:

1. In 2019, 5,904 eviction cases were filed in Multnomah County. Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an economic downturn throughout Oregon and in the City of Portland with unprecedented numbers of layoffs and reduced work hours for a significant percentage of our workforce. This economic hardship, disproportionately affecting low and moderate-income workers and BIPOC workers, has resulted in lost wages and the inability to pay for basic household expenses, including rent. Currently, as was true before the COVID-19 pandemic, nonpayment of rent is the leading cause of evictions within the state and in the City of Portland.
2. Although the economy continues to recover from the direct impacts of the pandemic, high inflation and increasing housing costs means many renter households, particularly low and moderate-income and BIPOC households, continue to struggle to afford their housing. Evictions filings remain elevated from pre-pandemic numbers. In 2022, 6,608 evictions were filed in Multnomah County, the majority of which were filed after pandemic eviction protections expired in August 2023. In 2023, 8,894 evictions were filed in Multnomah County, a 50% increase from pre-pandemic filings. And in the first six months of 2024, 5,538 eviction cases have been filed. If the rate of filings remains steady this year, Multnomah County will be on track to more than double the number of eviction filings when compared to 2019.
3. Evictions have long-term consequences for tenants including houselessness, the loss of personal possessions, decreased physical and mental health, poor school performance for children, job loss, housing discrimination, and the inability to find stable replacement housing. Evictions force low-income tenants further into poverty. Studies have shown that evictions and their resulting negative impacts disproportionately affect Black and Latino households, households headed by women, and households with children.
4. Evictions create significant costs within the City of Portland related to increased needs for shelter funding, education funding, health care provided in hospitals instead of community–based providers, transportation costs, and foster care.
5. Providing access to counsel for tenants facing eviction is a proven means of preventing the disruptive displacement of families and the resulting social, economic, and public health costs of such displacement. Even if displacement cannot be avoided, counsel can help negotiate more favorable terms that allow more time to vacate, avoidance of a formal eviction on a tenant’s record and possible reductions in back-rent or other costs owed by the tenant.
6. In recognition of the transformative impact of a right to counsel in eviction proceedings for tenants, seventeen cities, four states, and one county to date have adopted codes creating a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction.
7. The Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) recognizes the importance of providing legal assistance to tenants facing potential eviction. In addition, as evictions disproportionately impact BIPOC renters, preventing evictions and their negative consequences is a way to advance the City’s Racial Equity Goals & Strategies and PHB’s Racial Equity Plan.
8. With this funding, United Way of the Columbia Willamette will provide financial assistance to a minimum of 75 households facing eviction in Multnomah County. Demographic data of Program participants will be tracked to assess the Program’s effectiveness in advancing the City’s Racial Equity Goals & Strategies and the PHB’s Racial Equity Plan.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:

1. The Portland Housing Bureau is hereby authorized to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with Multnomah County for $500,000, substantially in accordance with the form attached as Exhibit A.
2. The Portland Housing Bureau Director is hereby authorized to execute, amend, and terminate existing and new contracts and agreements for the Eviction Legal Defense Program funded by these County funds with the expiration date of June 30, 2025, substantially in accordance with the form attached as Exhibit B.

Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists because the program funds must be obligated within required timeframes; therefore, this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by Council.