Housing
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek plans to seek $600 million more for housing, homelessness in 2024 session
Gov. Tina Kotek plans to ask the Legislature to spend another $600 million on housing and homelessness next year, building on record investments over the past few years as the state continues to grapple with a housing crisis. She laid out some of her budget priorities during a Tuesday press conference in Salem, a little […]
State wildfire recovery program helps hundreds of households affected by 2020 Labor Day fires
More than 1,100 Oregon households have received help from a $150 million wildfire recovery program the state set up after residents lost their homes during the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires. Three years later, the area is still recovering from the wildfires, which burned more than 1 million acres and destroyed or heavily damaged more […]
Oregon health and housing leaders prepare for Medicaid expansion
One year from now, the Oregon Health Authority plans to launch housing benefits for people on Medicaid who are at risk of losing their housing. The benefits are part of the state’s five-year Medicaid program, which received federal approval to spend tax dollars on housing, food and climate-related needs, like air conditioners, in addiction to […]
Oregon eviction filings above pre-pandemic levels; advocates say more state aid needed
Landlords are filing more court evictions monthly than they did before the COVID pandemic, though the number of evictions trended down after the Legislature passed a law giving tenants more time to make up late rent. That’s according to a presentation lawmakers on the Senate Housing and Development Committee heard from the Oregon Law Center, […]
A historic housing construction boom may finally moderate rent hikes
An unprecedented surge in the nationwide construction of new housing — mostly apartments — may finally be making a dent in fast-rising rents that have been making life harder for tenants. More than 1.65 million housing units were under construction last year, the highest annual number since federal record-keeping started in 1969. This year, the […]
Wyden, Merkley talk federal housing legislation, tax credits in Portland
PORTLAND – Oregon’s two U.S. senators say the timing is right for approval of more federal funding and tax credits for housing for low- and middle-income families in Oregon and elsewhere. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, discussed their housing legislation at a press event Wednesday with housing advocates at Portland Community Reinvestment […]
Building more homes is Kotek’s top priority for 2024 Oregon legislative session
After spending hundreds of millions in the past year to get people off the streets and into shelters, Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Legislature say they’re focused on addressing the state’s underlying housing crisis. Kotek and the co-chairs of her Housing Production Advisory Council laid out their priorities in meetings with legislative leaders, housing […]
Oregon rent increases will be capped at 10% in 2024
Landlords subject to Oregon’s rent control law can increase rents 10% in 2024, the Department of Administrative Services announced Tuesday. That’s the maximum allowed under a new law passed this year that sought to prevent most double-digit rent increases in years of high inflation. A 2019 law capped rent increases at 7% plus inflation, but […]
Oregon auditors flag millions in misspent money in state agencies
Oregon Secretary of State auditors unearthed millions of misappropriated dollars and a lack of oversight and accountability in four state agencies, according to an audit released Wednesday. In all, state auditors flagged $35.2 million of questionable spending within the Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Housing and Community Services and Higher Education […]
Kotek’s housing council wants to make expanding cities easier, a tough sell in Salem
Members of a governor-appointed council say Oregon needs to temporarily loosen its land-use laws to meet Gov. Tina Kotek’s goal of building 36,000 homes per year – an idea that’s proved to be one of the more divisive proposals to address the state’s housing crisis. Over the past few months, Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council […]
Low fertility rates, high housing prices mean fewer children in most states
Thirty-five states have fewer children than they did five years ago, a situation caused by declining birth rates nationwide, but also by young families migrating across state borders in search of cheaper housing. Even in the 15 states that gained children, all but North Dakota experienced greater growth in the adult population, meaning children now […]
Kotek celebrates new housing laws but says more work needs to be done
The Oregon Legislature made progress this year on addressing the state’s housing crisis with new policies and $1.2 billion in new spending on housing and homelessness but more work needs to be done, Gov. Tina Kotek said Thursday. Flanked by state legislators and homeless advocates, Kotek hosted a ceremonial bill signing for four housing bills […]