By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation
In May, voters in Multnomah County will vote on implementing an adjustable 0.75% capital gains tax to provide free lawyers to tenants being evicted. Portland and Multnomah County already subsidize legal defense for low-income renters facing eviction.
Backers needed 22,686 valid signatures to qualify the measure for the May 16, 2023 ballot. They turned in 24,216.
A legal challenge filed by the Portland Business Alliance kept the measure off the November ballot, but a Multnomah County judge ruled modifications to the language of the ballot measure would qualify it for the ballot in May.
Advocates had hoped to get their proposal on the November ballot, but a legal challenge filed by the Portland Business Alliance stalled the measure. A Multnomah County judge ruled the measure could proceed with some modifications to the language.
Oregon banned no-cause evictions after the first year of tenancy in 2019. The measure, if passed, would make for-cause evictions of problem tenants even more onerous and costly for Multnomah County landlords, most of whom are family owners of a single rental.
