#Home Program

The city of Portland will pay homeowners $1,000 – or more – if they rent out rooms as part of a new homeshare program championed by Mayor Keith Wilson as part of his campaign to address the city’s dual housing and homelessness crises. The idea is an outcrop of private initiatives that have been around for years. In Portland, the Home Share Oregon nonprofit spearheaded getting homeowners to rent to roommates but faltered amid financial troubles last year. Click the link in our bio to read more.

The Portland Housing Bureau is rolling out a new home-sharing pilot program this month, aimed at easing the housing crunch in the city. Find the full story on the FOX 12 app.

Last December, WW revealed that Home Forward, the city’s housing authority, was sitting on 955 vacant affordable housing units. That’s 1 in every 7 units that Home Forward owns. This is Part 1 of our video series featuring @sophiegreenleaf reporting over the last few months.

The Portland Housing Bureau is launching a yearlong pilot program aimed at expanding affordable housing options by encouraging homeowners to rent out spare rooms. Under the program, participating homeowners who meet all requirements can receive $1,000 from the city for the first room rented and $500 for each additional room.

Politicians love to talk about “affordable housing.” Everyone likes paying less…until the government gets involved. Portland has nearly 2,000 government-subsidized apartments sitting empty. Why? Paperwork, hoops, and a system that only benefits government paper pushers. Private landlords? They just want to know you can pay the rent. Same price. Less hassle. #affordablehousing #portlandpdx #governmentfail #housingcrisis #dobetter

The Portland City Council met Wednesday morning to decide what to do with more than $20 million in unspent housing funding, with some debate.

Portland cannot keep treating housing like it is only allowed on a few loud streets. We used to build low to mid-rise apartments on tree-lined blocks near transit, and you can still see that pattern in places like Buckman and Kerns. We should re-legalize that “four floors and corner stores” approach (paired with real anti-displacement protections) so we can add homes close-in and take pressure off older, naturally more affordable buildings. If you want to dig deeper, Portland: Neighbors Welcome has the full “Inner Eastside for All” proposal here: https://portlandneighborswelcome.org/ Share this with someone who keeps saying “we are full,” and tell me what questions you want answered next. #Portland #PDX #InnerEastside #Housing #HousingAffordability

Portland’s housing authority, Home Forward, is fast approaching financial distress. The problem? Paying off loans on its buildings. This is Part 4 of our video series recapping our reporting from the past few months.

Portland's median monthly rent is about five percent more than the national median, according to a study.

If you missed Portland City Council’s work session yesterday to discuss how to spend one-time housing dollars, Councilor Mitch Green (@councilormitchgreen) outlined a proposal to fund solutions that work. ✅ “Rent buydowns” are some of the best investments in housing we can make in this moment. 🗒️ Here’s why. Nonprofit organizations providing affordable housing are struggling with a high debt burden which drive up their costs to operate. Those costs directly affect renters, many of whom are struggling to afford rents and to stay housed. City government has the power to step in. Councilor Green and Councilor Angelita Morillo (@councilorangelitamorillo) recommend rent buydowns now as a near-term solution to prevent evictions and to prevent further homelessness. ❗️Urge your elected leaders to support rent buy downs, eviction defense and counsel, and rent assistance suggested by their proposal for spending our one-time housing dollars.