Property management companies are facing scrutiny over living conditions at several affordable housing sites in Portland, as tenant groups have begun to push back.

The tenants union at Wimbledon Square and Gardens (WSG) in inner Southeast Portland rallied against their property manager, Prime Residential, on Saturday March 1, calling on Prime to remedy issues related to habitability, contract breaches, communication, and accessibility. Wimbledon Square isn't classified as affordable housing under state or federal standards, but the complex accepts residents using rental vouchers, and tenants say it's one of few sites that is comparatively affordable for renters.

Wimbledon Square residents say they’ve struggled with unaddressed mold and air quality issues, maintenance requests, and poor insulation leading to high utility bills.

The union sent a letter to Prime in January, laying out tenant concerns. 

“We are demanding an immediate moratorium on evictions and rent increases to address these systemic failures until habitability, safety, and contractual violations have been fully resolved,” the letter stated. “It is unacceptable for tenants to face financial penalties or risk losing their homes while living in conditions that fail to meet essential health, safety, and accessibility standards.”

On top of livability issues, the tenants union claims Prime has targeted low-income residents, many of whom are on housing vouchers, with evictions and dirty, unsafe conditions upon move-in. 

“Wimbledon Square & Gardens is one of the few complexes in Portland where tenants with housing vouchers can secure a unit,” the union said in a press release. “But Prime Management weaponizes this system by forcing tenants to accept broken, unsafe apartments by leveraging the strict voucher time limits."

On Monday, a Wimbledon Square tenant reached out to the union for help after receiving an eviction notice, despite having a housing voucher that covers most, if not all of the monthly rent.

"They are being hit with late fees even though they are are covered with a housing voucher, and being repeatedly threatened with eviction," the union told the Mercury.

A response from Wimbledon property management company emphatically denied that a tenant’s rental voucher plays any role in its decision making, and reiterated several communication channels for filing concerns and maintenance requests.

Oregon state law requires landlords to maintain premises in habitable condition, including upon move-in, meaning rental units must be sanitary and kept free of rodents, vermin, and debris.

A spokesperson for Prime Group said the company takes resident feedback very seriously, but the company took issue with the demand letter. 

“Prime and the staff at Wimbledon Square and Gardens work hard to provide our residents with a safe, comfortable and well-maintained community,” the spokesperson told the Mercury in an email. “The claims in the demand letter–including those regarding evictions, discrimination and responsiveness to maintenance requests–are false. We take resident feedback very seriously and the lines of communication are open.” 

The Wimbledon Tenants Union formed in October 2024, the same time tenants at another housing complex began pushing for changes from their property manager.

Lents Village, a senior living and affordable-housing apartment complex in Southeast Portland, faced a months-long bedbug infestation with troubling responses from management. The site’s property manager, Quantum Residential, previously faced pushback for extreme habitability issues in a transitional housing project, Argyle Gardens. 

Properties like Lents Village are built with the help of city and state funds, and even federal housing tax credits. As of last October, 16 residents at Lents Village relied on rental assistance vouchers. But increasing reports of habitability issues at sites like Lents Village and Wimbledon have sparked concerns around government follow through.

The residents of Lents Village say they endured bed bugs for nearly a year, dating back to January 2024. A number of individual units were treated for bed bugs and cleared by pest control, but the problem persisted as late as November and took a toll on the residents. 

“I was scared to sleep in my bed, so I was sleeping on my couch,” Esther Dzandu, a Lents Village resident, told the Mercury. “When I was sleeping in my bed, in the middle of the night I would jump up, turn the light on, lift up my sheets and see there was blood.”

Residents had their rooms sprayed for bed bugs multiple times. At least one tenant resorted to sleeping in their car temporarily, while struggling to be heard by Quantum. 

Proof of a bed bug infestation in Lents Village was apparent, however. On October 30, a 67-year-old resident was found dead in his apartment, covered in bed bugs and roaches according to neighbors, and a police report. 

A death investigation report noted the tenant struggled with alcoholism and was potentially experiencing liver failure. 

“There was an open bottle of 'Relaxium' (natural sleep aid) spilled about the floor,” the police report states, noting the apartment “was infested with what appeared to be bed bugs and cock roaches.”

Property managers took a piecemeal approach to the insect treatments. Residents questioned the efficacy of treating only one unit at a time.

Melissa Greeney, the safety net specialist with Multnomah County's Aging, Disability and Veterans Services Division says Multnomah County has best practices when it comes to handling bed bugs.

“Even when only one unit appears to be affected, treating one unit alone is not a best practice and can cause an infestation to spread,” Greeney says. 

On top of the bed bug problem, Lents Village residents conveyed multiple issues with trash pickup that led to weeks of piled up garbage.

Tenants said their problems went unaddressed for months, so they sent a letter in November 2024 to Rose Community Development Corporation (CDC), the nonprofit organization that owns Lents Village. Rose CDC provides affordable housing in outer Southeast Portland.

 “Over the past 10 months, the building has become infested with rats, roaches and bed bugs,” the residents said in their letter. “It is now looking like Trash Village with overflowing dumpsters of garbage.”

When asked about the property issues in November, Nick Sauvie, co-executive director of Rose CDC, said they were aware of the bed bug problem and had exterminators provide treatments to the affected units. He also said the organization kept office hours at the property.  

Later in November, when Rose CDC became more involved, Quantum switched pest control companies and residents say the bed bug issue was resolved. Quantum denies there was an extended period with insect infestation issues. That same month, the trash was cleared and hasn't been an issue since then, but residents say it took weeks to address the problem. 

The struggles at Wimbledon Square, Lents Village, and Argyle Gardens highlight potential systemic issues in Portland’s housing landscape, where low-income tenants often find themselves with few options and little recourse. As tenant unions and resident groups continue to push back against property managers, the question remains whether current oversight and enforcement can meaningfully protect vulnerable residents. 

Leeor Schweitzer, an organizer with Portland Tenants United, says these problems are not uncommon. 

“It's hard to get into the heads of property management companies that neglect tenants and buildings creating lots of problems and misery,” Schweitzer says. “It requires such a high level of either greed or incompetence that makes speculation hard. But what I do know is when we get complaints about these types of issues at other apartment complexes, a lot of the time people just leave. Why would you put up with terrible housing conditions if you have an option? People in affordable housing don't have another option.”

Portland’s Rental Services Office provides information and resources for tenants, including tips and boiler plate language drafted by Legal Aid Services of Oregon on requesting repairs from a landlord or property manager, and what to do if they don’t comply. The site also explains the process for withholding rent if extreme habitability issues persist. The site doesn’t address the process for tenants with rental vouchers, but tenants with vouchers are advised to contact Home Forward, the affordable housing authority for Multnomah County, for any potential recourse, says Gabriel Mathews, a public information officer at the Portland Housing Bureau.

Tenants facing ongoing habitability issues that aren’t being rectified have other options, too. If a tenant is concerned about habitability or code compliance, they can contact Portland Permitting and Development (PP&D).

“PP&D is the city agency that investigates complaints about habitability code compliance,” Mathews says. “If a person believes their dwelling unit is unfit to occupy they should report the conditions to the City Inspector, who can investigate potential code violations and work with the owner to correct the violations.”

Portlanders in need of assistance with rental housing issues, or who have general questions about landlord/tenant law can contact the Rental Services Office help desk online, via email: RentalServices@portlandoregon.gov, or by phone at (503) 823-1303.