PORTLAND, Ore. — The revelation that Portland’s Housing Bureau was sitting on roughly $20 million of unspent money shocked city leaders and advocates for renters, as city leaders now mull ways to spend the money and deal with the fallout.
The money in question came from the city’s Residential Rental Registration program, created by the city in 2018. The program charges landlords an annual fee per rental unit and then funds programs such as rent assistance and eviction protection.
However, the Housing Bureau recently uncovered about $20 million that never went out to needy renters as intended…