Many of the newest apartment buildings in Portland represent the height of luxury, with workout rooms, Amazon Echos, and other upscale delights. But their developers are worried: Thanks to a relatively new city program, they’re being forced to rent some of those pricey units to the less-privileged in Portland. As a result, some say they won’t build as much housing in the city—and they place the blame on inclusionary housing (IH), a policy intended to help with the city’s affordable housing crisis.
IH—a program that requires developers to include affordable units in new residential buildings with more than 20 apartments—has been city policy since February 2017. While developers claim IH is cooling the market and driving development to other cities, the program’s advocates say it’s already helping to solve Portland’s housing shortage.
IH mandates that developers either make 15 percent of the units in large-scale apartment complexes financially accessible to those who make 80 percent or less of Portland’s median family income (MFI), or make 8 percent of the units accessible for those who make 60 percent or less of Portland’s MFI, which is currently $34,200 for an individual. The rental rate for IH units is set at 30 percent of a household’s income, just under the level at which the household becomes “housing burdened.” At that level, an IH studio apartment rents for $855 per month, while an IH two-bedroom apartment goes for $1,099.