Contact PTU:
Or send us a private message on Facebook or Twitter
***PTU is an all-volunteer union. We will try to respond to your message as quickly as possible, especially if you and others in your building are trying to form a union and fight for your rights. We DO NOT give legal advice and DO NOT have any money to help pay your rent. If you have general questions about your rights as a tenant or need legal help or rent assistance, please contact the resources below***
Other Resources:
Topics:
- COVID specific
- Tenant Rights Information
- Free or Low-Cost Legal Help
- Mediation
- City and County Inspectors
- Housing and Rent Assistance
- Other Local Tenant Unions
- Organizing Resources
COVID specific
URGENT HELP:
If you need urgent support for an eviction or illegal lock out, text PTU at (503) 461-0369, or email us at [email protected]
Oregon State: residents are protected from evictions through House Bill 4401
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If a tenant submits a written declaration (which your landlord is required to send to you), the moratorium is extended for that tenant until June 30, 2021.
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Under HB 4401 you are protected against non-payment eviction however:
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you are not protected against no cause evictions or landlord qualifying evictions (renovations/family move-in/etc)
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you are not protected against no cause evictions or landlord qualifying evictions (renovations/family move-in/etc)
- See comprehensive FAQ from the Portland Rental Services Office
National Moratorium: The national moratorium does not apply in Oregon because Oregon has stronger protections
- Extended through June 30th 2021.
- To qualify you must fill out a declaration form and mail it to your landlord.
- The National Low Income Housing Coalition put together this very handy info sheet about the moratorium.
OregonLawHelp.org has a page dedicated to housing protection during COVID-19.
Tenant Rights Information
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oregonlawhelp.org - Detailed, understandable, and accurate information about landlord-tenant law
- Legal Aid booklet - a run down from Legal Services of Landlord Tenant Law in Oregon
- ORS 90 - The Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, contains most important statewide landlord-tenant law
- Portland Rental Services Office: (503) 823-1303 or [email protected]
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Community Alliance of Tenants Renters Rights Hotline: (503) 288-0130
- Specifically check out their CAT's Know Your Rights information
- Manufactured Communities Resource Center: (503) 986-2145 or [email protected]
- PDX Renters Unite! - Facebook group where you can share your stories with fellow renters, many of whom have gone through the same things
Free or Low-Cost Legal Help
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Legal Aid Services of Oregon: (503) 224-4086 [Only serves low-income clients]
- Oregon Law Center: 1-800-672-4919 [only serves low-income tenants, usually requires referral from Legal Aid]
- Portland Defender: (503) 592-0606 or [email protected] [Pro bono]
- Lyon Legal Services: 503-754-0457 [sliding scale based on income]
- Garcia Law LLC: 541-604-8718 or [email protected]
- Community Law Project: (503) 208-4079 or [email protected] [Reduced rates for lower-income]
- The Commons Law Center: 503-850-0811 [sliding scale legal services for people making under 400% the federal poverty line]
- Oregon State Bar Modest Means Program: (503) 684-3763 or [email protected] [Sliding scale]
- Fair Housing Council of Oregon: (503) 223-8197
- Disability Rights Oregon: (503) 243-2081
- Don't Shoot PDX Community Legal Referral Services: [email protected] or message them on Facebook
Mediation
Sometime people don't want to pursue legal channels, or are for whatever reason unable to. In those cases, mediation might be an effective tool to resolve a conflict with a landlord. A PTU volunteered has offered free mediation services for tenants in need. There are two types of services:
- Conflict Coaching: Conflict coaching is having a conversation with someone to understand their situation and potentially help them resolve their own conflict. We often find that folks just need a little support and resources to work through their own conflicts with others. While it often seems that the other person is completely stuck in their position and will not change, through a series of questions we can get at the underlying needs and concerns. Once those are identified, we find there are many ways forward and sometimes it takes a bit of coaching to work through a conflict without the need of mediation.
- Mediation: Sometimes folks need a third party to help facilitate a difficult conversation. Mediators are not a judge or lawyer and have no ability to determine the outcome. Mediators are "co-partial" meaning they want the best for all parties involved and will work to create a space where hard conversations can take place. Our role is to make sure everyone feels heard and that each party understands where the other is coming from. There may be an opportunity for parties to come to a common agreement. If that is the case, mediators can help work out the details of that agreement.
*Disclaimer: Mediators are not advocates. We will not talk to the other party to convince them of your position. We can, however, talk to the other party in an attempt to "bring them to the table" to have a conversation all together. In order to take on a mediation, all parties must agree to go into the conversation willing to have a dialogue. Mediation is a voluntary process, meaning all parties are choosing to be there.
You can contact Lauren at [email protected] or call (503) 893-9656
City and County Inspectors - They can force your landlord to make repairs
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Portland Neighborhood Inspections Program: (503) 823-2633
- For help addressing rats, vermin and pest infestations, contact Multnomah County Vector Control at (503) 988-3464
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Multnomah County Environmental Health: (503) 988-3464
- The cities of Gresham and Wood Village have their own rental inspection programs. Cities with (more limited) residential code enforcement programs include Fairview and Troutdale.
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Clackamas County Code Enforcement: (503) 742-4452 or [email protected]
- Cities with (more limited) residential code enforcement programs include Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, Gladstone, and Oregon City.
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Washington County Code Compliance: (503) 846-4875 or [email protected]
- Tenant mold hotline for Washington County is (503) 648-7723
- The cities of Tigard and Tualatin have their own rental inspection programs. Cities with (more limited) residential code enforcement programs include Sherwood, Beaverton, Hillsboro and Forest Grove.
- Call 211 for a regularly updated list of available housing and rent assistance.
- You can also sometimes find cheap housing through Facebook groups like Portland OR Housing, Portland Housing/Roommates/Sublets/Roomster, Portland Queer Housing, Portland Area Transgender and Queer Safer Housing, or Portland Disabled Housing Network
Other Local Tenant Unions
PTU operates throughout the Portland Metro area. Check out some of these groups operating on different scales:
- North Portland Tenants Collective: [email protected]
- Living Cully's Cully Housing Action Team: (503) 489-8334 or [email protected]
- Green Lents' Lents Strong Housing Team: (971) 319-0444 or [email protected]
- Oregon Renters in Action (formerly SE Portland Renters in Action): 503-995-0250 or [email protected]
- Monmouth-Independence Tenants Union: [email protected]
- Tenants United Corvallis: [email protected]
- Springfield-Eugene Tenant Association: 541-972-3715
- Southern Oregon Tenants Union: (541) 708-3576
- Residents Organizing for Change: [email protected] [Statewide affordable housing tenants union]
- Community Alliance of Tenants: (503) 288-0130 [Statewide organization]
- Manufactured Housing/Oregon State Tenants Association: 1-800-423-9371 [Statewide mobile home park union]
- Tenants Union of Washington State: (206) 723-0500 [If you're just across the border in Vancouver, WA]
- Homes For All: (646) 360-5800 or [email protected] [Nationwide coalition of tenant unions]
- Right 2 Survive: (503) 839-9992 or [email protected] [Because our houseless neighbors need a union, too]
Organizing Resources