Housing Justice Program
At CAT we are organizing to end the housing injustice that impacts us all on a daily basis. The Housing Justice Program (HJP) is organizing and building the skills, capacity and power of low-income tenants to (1) direct the decisions made that impact our lives, and (2) win new sources of funding to solve our regional affordable housing crisis. Click here to get involved!
Unjust, Unsafe, and Unaffordable: The Sad State of Tenant Protections in Oregon
Safe, stable and affordable housing is central to our health and welfare. A home is a fundamental human need. It is needed for healthy lives and a starting point for meaningful educational and employment opportunity. Despite the critical importance of stable and safe homes to the health of our families and communities, it remains out of reach for many of us.
There is a severe shortage of affordable housing. According to Metro Government's Regional Affordable Housing Strategy, we need at least 90,000 more homes that are affordable to very low-income families in the Portland Metro area alone. Portland's affordable housing system has the capacity to serve only one-third of families in need of assistance. As a result, every night, thousands of people, including families with children, are left to sleep on the streets while others make unthinkable choices between housing, food and healthcare. This affordable housing shortage leaves us with few housing options, and in most cases, tenants can be evicted from our homes without cause and only 30 days notice. These conditions make it difficult for tenants to get needed repairs. Inadequate housing quality standards, insufficient enforcement of existing standards, and the lack of tenant eviction protections create huge barriers to those of us attempting to improve conditions in the housing we can afford. As a result, we are often in a position of choosing between no-housing and unsafe housing. We do not have the option to "shop around" for living conditions that are up to standard. Application fees, deposits and moving costs mean we cannot afford to "just move" if a landlord does not make needed repairs.
What is current in the Housing Justice Program?
Make sure to check out the SafeHousing Program and Renter Education Stability Program for more information on our work to improve habitability in Portland and to improve Oregon's Landlord/Tenant Act in Salem.
Affordable Housing NOW! (AHN): Despite the magnitude of the housing crisis in Oregon, we can create safe, stable, affordable housing for everyone. Through Affordable Housing NOW! we are organizing low-income tenants and tenant allies to win an on-going and substantial stream of funding to save existing affordable housing and to develop new affordable housing in the Portland metro area. For more information on AHN, click here! or learn how to get involved.
Oregon Housing Alliance: This new statewide alliance of housing advocates is fresh from its first successes in Salem. CAT is an active member and mobilizes low-income tenants to meet with their legislators and attend hearings. For more information, click here.
Just-cause eviction: Current state law allows tenants to be evicted without any stated cause and only 30 days notice. We want to adopt legislation that would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants without documented cause by requiring the landlords to use the "for-cause" eviction process in the Oregon Landlord/Tenant Act.
30-day "no-cause" evictions create a climate of fear and instability for tenants. Tenants are afraid to complain about needed repairs and are subject to the whims of on-site managers. "No-cause" evictions are used to dodge fair-housing laws that are designed to protect tenants from discrimination, and "no-cause" evictions contribute to homelessness and overcrowding, because 30 days is not enough time to save for the costs need to find and move into new housing.
While the law prohibits landlords from using no-cause evictions for purposes of retaliation or discrimination, many tenants cannot come up with the personal or financial resources for the court battle needed to fight unlawful evictions and are afraid of the consequences of having an eviction on their record.
Federal Cuts: While CAT has limited capacity to work on federal issues, we do mobilize members through various forums to respond to drastic and disturbing federal policies around funding for affordable housing. Please contact Karen to learn more about how to get involved.
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