NEWS: Advocates praise Gov. Kate Brown calling special session to stop preventable evictions

Today Gov. Kate Brown called for a special session next month for lawmakers to take action so that people who have applied for rent assistance from state and local agencies cannot be evicted during the application process. Here is a statement from Stable Homes for Oregon Families:

“Governor Brown’s call is welcome news for the thousands of renting families and individuals who are living every day with the threat of eviction because the rent assistance they applied for has been delayed for months. We also appreciate all the state lawmakers who have been working together on a solution. We urge the legislature to ensure no one loses their home while their applications are pending and also provide additional funding to help keep people safe and stable during this time of ongoing economic upheaval.”

Background:

Current state and local law says no one can be evicted for 60 or 90 days - depending on the county - after showing landlords proof of applying for assistance. But according to Oregon Housing and Community Services, more than 10, 500 Oregon Households are at risk of eviction because their applications still haven’t been processed after two or three months. Since July 1, court eviction filings for non-payment have increased six-fold and the application logjam means thousands and thousands of renting households are at risk

More than 60 local and statewide advocacy, health care, faith-based organizations as well as housing providers, local governments and labor unions are supporting action to protect tenants in the special session. They include:

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AARP Oregon

ACLU Oregon

Basic Rights Oregon

Cascade Aids Project

City of Beaverton

City of Bend

City of Gresham

City of Hillsboro

City of Portland

Clackamas Women’s Services

Coalition of Communities of Color

Community Alliance of Tenants

Compact of Free Association Alliance National Network

Community Action Partnership of Oregon

Consejo Hispano

DevNW

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon

Fair Shot for All

Family Forward Oregon

Habitat for Humanity of Oregon

Health Share of Oregon

Home Forward

Housing Alliance

Housing Authority of Oregon

Housing Oregon

Human Solutions

JOIN

Lane County Oregon

Latino Network

Metro

Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good

Metropolitan Family Services

Multnomah County

NAMI Oregon

Northwest Family Services

Northwest Pilot Project

Oregon AFL-CIO

Oregon AFSCME

Oregon Center for Public Policy

Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence

Oregon Coalition of Christian Voices

Oregon Consumer Justice

Oregon Education Association

Oregon Food Bank

Oregon Law Center

Oregon Nurses Association

Oregon Primary Care Association

Oregon Renters in Action

Project Access Now

Raphael House of Portland

Rent Well

Residents Organizing for Change Oregon

Rogue Action Center

SATF Oregon

SEIU

Springfield Eugene Tenants Association

Transition Projects

Unite Oregon

United Way of the Columbia-Willamette

Washington County

We Can Do Better

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