Councilor Koyama Lane Submits Ordinance to Expand Renter Relocation Assistance to support Families with School-Age Kids

In this article

PORTLAND, OR. - Today, Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane submitted an ordinance to expand the City'sMandatory Renter Relocation Assistance program, aimed at helping families with school-age children stay at their school when facing a no-cause or landlord-cause eviction during the school year.

The Mandatory Renter Relocation Assistance program is for renters who are served a no-cause eviction or encounter aspecific triggering event listed in the ordinance to have a right to receive relocation assistance from their landlord. Councilor Koyama Lane's ordinance expands the program so that renters with school-age kids would get an increased relocation assistance amount if they're evicted during the school year.

"As a teacher, I have seen first-hand the kind of devastating effects moving and housing loss has on children in school," said Councilor Koyama Lane. "Causing a kid to have to pack up and move to a new home in the middle of the school year and change to an entirely different school community, to leave friends and teachers behind, can be traumatic and have long-term effects on their entire education."

Research shows that switching schools during the academic year correlates with drops in math and reading performance, greater risk of being held back, and a higher likelihood of not graduating on time. Involuntary moves, including those driven by eviction or family housing instability, tend to be especially disruptive to a child's educational trajectory.

Several cities, including Seattle, Tacoma, and San Francisco, have enacted school-year eviction bans. Oregon state law is understood to preempt Portland from adopting a similar outright ban. However, the City's existing Mandatory Renter Relocation Assistance requirement - upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court in Owen v. City of Portland - offers a legally viable path to support families during a school-year move by ensuring they have the resources to relocate and stay with the same teachers and schools rather than being displaced further away.

The ordinance was drafted in coordination with the City Attorney's Office to keep the expansion narrowly tailored and legally durable.

Additional updates will be shared as the ordinance moves forward.