Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Will Support Strengthening Requirement for Landlords to Pay Moving Costs

In a reversal, the mayor wants to replace the single unit exemption with one for owner-occupied duplexes and for accessory-dwelling units.

By Rachel Monahan

In a reversal, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will support strengthening the ordinance that requires landlords to pay moving expenses for tenants evicted without cause or forced out after a rent increase of 10 percent or more.

When the City Council takes up the issue of making the so-called "relocation ordinance" permanent next month, Wheeler plans to support repealing the exemption for landlords who own a single rental unit.

In its place, he'll support a more narrow exemption for granny flats and owner-occupied duplexes, his spokesman Michael Cox says.

"It represents a pragmatic approach that addresses most of the issues he has heard expressed," says Cox.

A year ago, City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and Wheeler sponsored the legislation to require landlords to pay moving costs ranging from $2,900 to $4,500 in most cases of no-cause evictions and 10 percent rent hikes.

It was the most dramatic tenant protection passed in the city of Portland in decades after both Eudaly and Wheeler campaigned on protecting renters.

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