Portland's Temporary Waiver of PCC 30.01.086 for Displaced Persons

The Portland Housing Bureau issued an immediate waiver of PCC 30.01.086. Effective September 14th throughout the City of Portland, any housing provider or landlord providing a dwelling unit to any person displaced from their home or shelter due to wildfires, are not subject to the provisions of PCC 30.01.086(C)(1)-(2). All other provisions of PCC 30.01.086 remain in effect, as applicable. The State of Emergency related to this waiver shall remain in effect through 5pm on Monday, September 28, 2020 unless otherwise extended, modified, or terminated.

So Portland's city code 30.01.086(C)(1)-(2) can be read here. The city code sections are also pasted below. They define the parameters around advertising available units and the order for processing applications. This temporary waiver allows for the application process to be expedited to better meet the housing needs of those displaced due to the current wildfires.

C.  Tenant Application Process; Generally.

1.  Notice of Dwelling Unit Availability; Notice Content.

a.  If a Landlord advertises a Dwelling Unit’s availability, the Landlord must publish notices for rental of the available Dwelling Unit at least 72 hours prior to the start of the date and time the Landlord will begin accepting applications (“Open Application Period”). The notice must specify the following:

(1)  When the Landlord will begin to accept applications;

(2)  A description of the factors the Landlord will consider in evaluating Applicants if the Landlord intends to charge a screening fee; and

(3)  Whether the available unit is an Accessible Dwelling Unit.

b.  The Landlord’s Notice may incorporate this information or may provide an address, website address, internet link or other written method of communicating this information to prospective Tenants.

2.  Order of Processing Applications.

a.  Applications Received in Response to an Advertised Notice.

(1)  At the start of the Open Application Period, a Landlord must digitally or manually record the date and time the Landlord received each complete application.

(2)  With regard to any applications received earlier than the Open Application Period, the Landlord must digitally or manually record the date and time of such complete applications as 8 hours after the start of the Open Application Period.

(3)  A Landlord may simultaneously process multiple applications but must accept, conditionally accept, or deny Applicants in order of receipt.

(4)  A Landlord owning Dwelling Units within the City of Portland, may refuse to process the application of an Applicant who has verifiable repeated Rental Agreement violations with this Landlord if the most recent violation occurred within 365 days before the Applicant’s submission date.

(5)  A Landlord may refuse to process an application that is materially incomplete, that fails to include information concerning an Applicant’s identification, income, or upon which an Applicant has intentionally withheld or misrepresented required information.

(6)  Within 5 business days of receiving a request from an Applicant, a Landlord must provide the Applicant with a record of the date and time the Landlord received the complete Application.

b.  Applications Processed from a Waitlist.

(1)  If a Landlord maintains a waitlist for filling vacancies instead of advertising notice of vacancies, the Landlord must add names to the waitlist in the order of receipt.

(2)  When members of a waitlist apply for a vacancy, a Landlord may simultaneously process multiple applications but must accept, conditionally accept, or deny Applicants in order of receipt of a completed application.

c.  Applications for Accessible Dwelling Units.

(1)  When, during the first 8 hours of the Open Application Period, a Landlord receives an application for an Accessible Dwelling Unit from an Applicant with a household member that is Mobility Disabled, the Landlord must give priority to such application and accept, conditionally accept, or deny the Applicant prior to considering other Applicants.

(2)  If there are multiple Applicants for an Accessible Dwelling Unit with a household member that is Mobility Disabled, the Landlord must accept, conditionally accept, or deny such applications in order of receipt, but prior to processing completed applications for any Applicants without household members that are Mobility Disabled.

d.  The requirements of this Subsection C. do not apply to applications for Dwelling Units regulated as affordable housing by a federal, state or local government for households that earn no more than 80 percent of the median household income and are leased through a lottery or preference process, or through the Multnomah County Coordinated Access System.

e.  Upon a Landlord’s approval and the Applicant’s acceptance of the Dwelling Unit, the Applicant and the Landlord must enter into a Rental Agreement.  The Landlord may require all adult Tenants or persons intending to occupy the Dwelling Unit to sign Rules of Residency.