Oregon Risks Surge in Homelessness as Lawmakers Propose Slashing Eviction Aid by 74 Percent

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has pledged to fight lawmakers who want to slash the budget on eviction prevention funding by a staggering 74%, cutting assistance from 27,713 to 4,331 people in the next two years.

If passed by legislators this current session, the cutbacks will affect Oregonians who receive eviction prevention services such as emergency rent assistance and legal aid.

The proposal is part of the housing and homelessness budget and has raised concerns of the Portland Urban League which pointed out at a press conference earlier this week that the proposal was not in keeping with a pledge by lawmakers to provide more help to people of color.

According to Portland State University data, Black Oregonians who rent are evicted at more than double the rate of white tenants.

Cheaper to Provide Rent Assistance Than to Operate Shelters

The Urban League and other advocacy groups say it is less expensive to provide emergency rent assistance than to operate homeless shelters.

They contend that it costs between $21,000 and $50,000 to maintain a single shelter bed in Multnomah County every year, while the county spends an average of $11,000 per person on short-term rent assistance and legal aid.

According to an end-of-year homeless services report, 92% of recipients of emergency rent assistance in the county remain stably housed.

The Governor wants lawmakers to provide $173 million for eviction prevention services, an 80% increase on the proposed budget allocation.

‘I wish we were seeing bigger numbers out of the Legislature and I will be fighting up until the end of this session to add additional dollars to some of these budgets,’ she vowed.

Housing and homelessness also face substantial budget cutbacks but Kotek has nevertheless asked lawmakers to allocate an additional R100 million to this sector.

However, Oregon Housing and Community Services is facing a 28.2% cutback, representing an income loss of $1 billion.

Every budget allocation for 2025-27 is below the level requested by the governor. Homeless shelters have been allocated $205 million, $87 million for long-term rent assistance, $50 million for emergency rehousing, and $4 million for down payment assistance.