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Portland Housing Bureau proposes home-sharing pilot amid small cuts and restored eviction defense funding
Summary
PHB Director Helmi Hisrick told the committee the mayor’s budget reduces some program funding but adds $500,000 for a home-sharing pilot; an earlier proposed cut to eviction legal defense was restored in the mayor’s proposal.
The Portland Housing Bureau briefed the Homelessness and Housing Committee May 13 on changes in the mayor’s proposed budget, including a new home-sharing pilot and a smaller overall cut than originally proposed.
Helmi Hisrick, director of the Portland Housing Bureau, said the mayor’s revised budget reduces general fund support to PHB by $800,000 (smaller than an earlier $1.2 million cut the bureau had proposed) and that a previously proposed $400,000 cut to the eviction legal defense program was restored in the mayor’s proposal.
Hisrick outlined specific program changes: a $400,000 one-time reduction to first-time homebuyer assistance that would reduce down-payment assistance loans by an estimated three to five loans; a one-time reduction to homeowner repair grants (amount not specified in the presentation); and an added $500,000 general-fund allocation for a home-sharing pilot. Hisrick said the home-sharing funds would pay startup costs, a staff position, research, and partnership dollars for an outside community-based organization to help connect homeowners and prospective occupants. She said the bureau would run a competitive selection process for any partner and had reviewed unsolicited proposals including one from PadSplit but that no partner has been chosen.
Councilors sought clarification about who would run a pilot and how it would differ from for-profit short-term rental platforms. Hisrick said the bureau’s intent is to pursue a targeted, nonprofit-centered model that could, for example, focus on senior homeowners seeking a long-term matched occupant rather than transient short-term rentals. Councilor Dunphy expressed skepticism about replicating private-market short-term rental outcomes and asked staff to be cautious in design and oversight.
Hisrick and staff also described concerns from affordable-housing developers about the North/Northeast preference policy and its effect on lease-up timelines; developers asked for a “vacancy support” to cover shortfalls when units take longer to lease under the preference policy. PHB staff said they have discussed such lease-up support with developers and are weighing options.
Committee members asked whether PHB could redirect pilot funding to preservation or other priorities; Hisrick said bureau priorities will follow council direction and that staff have also been engaging developers about preserving at-risk affordable units in preference-policy areas.
Council members asked operational questions about PHB’s capacity to administer rental-assistance programs if funds were available. Hisrick said the bureau could implement a rental-assistance program at the scale of roughly $1 million with current staffing but would need additional capacity for larger programs.
