Under the terms of the project, [Multnomah County] would build the granny flats and homeowners would get to keep them—a substantial property upgrade. In return, a homeowner would commit to a five-year lease of the backyard structure to a homeless family, without pocketing any rent.
"We're taking risks," says Mary Li, director of the Multnomah Idea Lab, a county policy center. "My hope is, we prove this concept, and we do 300 of these in the next 12 months."
— Willamette Week
As the homelessness crisis worsens in Portland, city and Multnomah County officials are under pressure to find solutions. One pilot project the county will test out is “A Place for You”, wherein the county would offer to essentially pay homeowners to build them a roughly 200-square-foot in their backyard. Homeowners would then agree to a five-year lease to let a homeless family live in the flat. The county is also working on an effort to waive property taxes on the granny flats when they are used by homeless families, Willamette Week reports.
County officials hope to build the first four houses by June 30, and up to 300 if the program works out.
1 Comment
This is an interesting (very) partial solution. Lots of good issues and answers in the comments section following the article.
Most have to do with social services, utilities costs, tenant screening, and landlord recourse. Not mentioned (in my scan, at least) is access to transportation for a decentralized at-risk population.
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