Oregon tenant advocates report uptick in landlord harassment during eviction ban

“By and large, Oregon’s eviction moratorium appears to be working as intended, holding off the flood of evictions that are expected to accompany the economic crisis as thousands of Oregonians lose their incomes amid the pandemic. But some tenant advocates say the bar on no-cause evictions has fueled a rise in tenant harassment, as landlords, unable to evict tenants formally through the courts, pressure tenants until they feel they have no choice but to move out.

“For the most part, landlords are respecting the moratorium now,” said Kim McCarty, the executive director of the Community Alliance of Tenants. “But there’s enough not respecting it and there are enough people who are confused about their future, that I can report from our organization that the phones are ringing off the hook. We cannot keep up with the demand.”

Advocates say hard numbers on reports of tenant harassment over time — either in Portland or statewide — don’t exist. Unlike some other major cities, Portland’s Housing Bureau does not track harassment reports nor does the Community Alliance of Tenants, which works with renters across the state.

But in a recent report on housing insecurity during the pandemic, the Community Alliance of Tenants and Portland State University captured a snapshot of how many tenants were facing harassment this July, three months after the state’s moratorium began. Out of 460 renters surveyed, 22% reported: “hostile, harassing, or threatening behavior from landlords or property managers.” That rate jumped to 32% for tenants who identified as BIPOC.”