The Portland City Council has approved a sweeping housing package aimed at preventing displacement and expanding long-term affordable housing, marking the city’s first major investment in a social housing model.
The “Keep Portland Housed” package, introduced by Councilor Mitch Green and co-sponsored by Councilors Angelita Morillo, Candace Avalos and Jamie Dunphy, was passed as part of a spring budget adjustment. The plan directs millions of dollars toward emergency rent assistance, eviction defense and the creation of permanently affordable, publicly owned housing.
Supporters say the package is designed to address both the immediate risk of eviction and the long-term shortage of affordable housing.
“The passage of the Keep Portland Housed package includes historic first-time investments in a social housing model that can directly address Portland’s long term housing affordability crisis,” Green said. “Starting today, the City of Portland will begin to acquire existing properties and convert them into permanently affordable, off-market housing. We also created a revolving loan fund that can support future social housing development. This is only the beginning. We have a lot more work ahead of us. But make no mistake, social housing in Portland has begun.”
The package outlines a multi-pronged strategy funded through sources including rental registration fees, transient lodging taxes and tax increment financing.
A significant portion of the funding is focused on stabilizing households at risk of losing their housing.
The plan includes $5 million in flexible, short-term rent assistance for households at risk of eviction, along with $2 million in expanded assistance and rapid rehousing support for tenants already facing eviction. Additional funding will support legal services, mediation and a Right to Counsel pilot program in a limited area.
Another $2 million is allocated to help individuals exiting homelessness secure housing, with a focus on supporting providers facing reductions in state funding.
The package also invests $8.8 million in stabilizing existing affordable housing, including debt buy-downs intended to preserve deeply affordable units, reduce rents and improve building safety.
Additional funding includes $1.9 million for eviction defense services, $800,000 for down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and $200,000 for tenant education and outreach.
At the same time, the city is making its first direct investment in social housing, a model centered on public or non-market ownership designed to keep housing permanently affordable.
The plan sets aside $17.5 million to establish a revolving loan fund that will support future housing development, preservation and the acquisition of properties for long-term public ownership. City officials said the Portland Housing Bureau, working with Prosper Portland, will return to Council within 120 days with a proposal outlining how the fund will operate, including loan terms and acquisition goals.
Green, who has advocated for social housing as a long-term solution to the city’s affordability crisis, described the vote as a turning point.
“This is what it looks like to align emergency action with long-term structural change,” Green said. “We are slowing the flow into homelessness right now, and building public assets that will provide permanently affordable housing for all in the future.”
The package also includes additional investments tied to broader development and housing efforts, including $5.6 million for the Broadway Corridor project and $3.5 million in gap financing for Hacienda Community Development Corporation’s Monarcha project.
