Survey Says Most Oregon Renters Are in Distress

The moratorium on evictions expires Sept. 30.

Apartments in Southeast Portland. (Wesley Lapointe)
By Rachel Monahan

Fifty-three percent of Oregon tenants say they paid their monthly rent during the pandemic by cutting back on food and medication, according to a survey conducted this month by Portland State University and the Community Alliance of Tenants.

More than 1 in 3 of the 460 Oregon renters surveyed have failed to pay their full rent during the pandemic and cannot afford to pay what they still owe.

The survey results were released as part of an effort to lobby for more renter protections, including an extension of the moratorium on evictions, which expires Sept. 30.

Gov. Kate Brown has said she doesn't expect to call a special session until after the election, so any extension of the eviction moratorium in the next week would have to come from her.

"The governor is continuing to have conversations with community leaders and stakeholders," says Brown spokesman Charles Boyle, "to look at options surrounding a moratorium for evictions for renters."

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