We will work to end and mitigate the impacts of displacement caused by no-cause terminations and unjustified rent increases, and to ensure fair and equitable access to safe and secure housing in livable communities for all. We believe that stable housing is essential to providing the opportunities and security people need to live healthy and successful lives and create healthy communities.

We are a member-led union that fights for our shared rights and interests.  

Here are the Mission Statement and Points of Unity that guide our work:

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Portland Tenants United is to build power and solidarity among the tenant class throughout the Portland metro region as a member-driven tenant union. Through organizing, direct action, coalition building, and civic engagement, Portland Tenants United fights to keep people in their homes, and to achieve dignity and security for all tenants.

POINTS OF UNITY

1. Housing is a human right. We all have a right to a safe, secure, and habitable home Fulfilling this basic human need is critical to maintaining healthy communities and a just and equitable society.

2. Tenants have the right to a reason, to a remedy, and to remain; they will not be displaced without cause, or without recourse and relief from the burden of displacement.

3. Tenants have the right to rent available housing in their communities without discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or gender expression, domestic violence victim/survivor status, political ideology, lifestyle, age, family status, marital status, source of income, disability, non-violent criminal record, health history, rental history, credit score, or subjective assessments by housing providers.

4. Tenants have the right to advocate for their rights as tenants and citizens, and to assert their beliefs and opinions, without risk of retaliatory action that could adversely impact current or future tenancy.

5. Tenants have the power, the right, and the agency to organize for mutual aid and protection, and to determine the rules and conditions of their tenancy through collective bargaining and other means.

6. Tenants have the right to stability, predictability, transparency, and accountability with regard to all contractually bound housing expenditures.

7. Housing providers supply a critical public service that should serve primarily as an investment into the health and welfare of the community, not as a vehicle of personal wealth. As such, they must prioritize the stability, welfare, and dignity of their tenants over the profitability of their property.

8. In order to challenge the exploitation of tenants by housing providers and moneyed interests and to dismantle the current landlord-tenant paradigm, tenants must organize for alternative housing models such as public housing, supportive housing, collective ownership/management models, and cooperative living.