Portland's housing affordability crisis may soon see a novel approach, thanks to Councilors Mitch Green and Candace Avalos. Presenting a revolutionary resolution, the Homelessness and Housing Committee passed it with four votes. This momentous proposal aims to investigate social housing strategies which, if embraced by the full City Council in April, could change the landscape of housing in Portland.

As per the City of Portland's official news release, social housing—as a concept where public or nonprofit entities own and manage housing to ensure affordability and serve the community—could serve as an antidote to the soaring rents and home prices plaguing the city's residents. Despite previous initiatives favoring market-based resolutions, such as incentives for private development, the affordable housing shortage remains dire.

Councilor Green was quoted, "The scale of the problem is too great for us to rely on passive, market-based solutions,” said Councilor Mitch Green. “It's time for Portland to go big and tackle our housing shortage head on. Social housing offers a real, sustainable solution by prioritizing people over profits." His peer, Councilor Avalos, echoes this sentiment, noting the failing status quo. "The way that we have been housing our humans is just not working. We have to try something new," she told the City of Portland. This proposed study would delve into successful social housing models in places like Seattle, Vienna, and Montgomery County, Maryland to create an informed, equitable policy tailor-made for Portland.

In charge of the research will be Helmi Hisserich, head of the Portland Housing Bureau, who spent two years examining Vienna's model. She explained, "To put it simply, it is housing that is non-market, and is permanently affordable." Green's ambition shared to the City of Portland was clear, "My goal is passing a social housing policy that will be the envy of the West Coast. And to do that, it's important to get the institutional design right. I'm excited to work directly with the Portland Housing Bureau to craft the program that works best for Portland."

Advocacy for social housing isn't new—housing advocates and community organizations have long vouched for it as an essential measure to combat Portland's housing difficulties. As TJ Noddings, a tenant's rights advocate, and co-chair of the Portland Democratic Socialists of America’s housing working group, articulated, "Half of all renters in Portland pay more than 30% of their income in rent. 25% of all renters here pay more than half of their income in rent. That’s not a tenable situation. What we need desperately, more than anything else, is a real solution to our housing crisis, and that solution is Social Housing." The City Council’s vote in April could signify a substantial shift in Portland's approach to securing housing for its inhabitants, with the City Administrator's report scheduled for May 2026 setting the stage for potential social housing policies.