Search

When there is not adequate shelter available, people camping in public areas will have five days to connect with service providers and Housing staff, until they will be required to move at least 500 feet (1.4 football fields) away from their current camp site.

Renting to some with an RLRA voucher means guaranteed rent! The rent portion that is the responsibility of Washington County will be sent by the same date each month. Should the tenant not be able to pay their portion of rent, staff will support the tenant in the process of applying for additional assistance programs. These vouchers also cover security deposit assistance, including an increase in the security deposit if necessary to address screening barriers.

Voucher may also be used to cover application fees and a holding fee to the landlord to cover costs while the inspection takes place and move in paperwork is processed.

Finally, this voucher includes a “Risk Mitigation Pool”. Landlords that have a tenant with an RLRA voucher are able to access a fund that can cover up to $5,000 for damages above and beyond normal wear and tear covered by the security deposit. This is managed through a claim process with the Housing Development Center. Click here to learn more or to start a claim.

Families must meet federal income criteria set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to be eligible. This means that a household may not earn more than 80% of the Area Median Income in Washington County, however the housing authority will prioritize extremely low-income families whose households do not exceed 30% of the median income. These income limits are published annually, and the 2024 limits are listed below:

The Washington County Community Engagement Spectrum includes four levels of community engagement: inform, consult, involve and collaborate. The steps for community engagement in expanding shelter programs include each of these aspects:

1. Public notification (Inform) – Surrounding residences and businesses are notified of plans to locate a shelter at the site and of upcoming community engagement meetings.
2. Information & listening sessions (Inform, consult, and involve) – In-person or virtual meetings are held to introduce staff and partners to the neighborhood and gather feedback and concerns.
3. Workshop (Consult and involve) – Site partners, law enforcement, County staff and neighbors gather to begin forming a Neighborhood Plan (formerly called a Good Neighbor Agreement).
4. Draft feedback (Involve)– The draft Neighborhood Plan is shared, and a virtual meeting is held to focus on feedback or questions about the document.
5. Program launch (Inform)– Surrounding residences and businesses are again notified of the timeline for shelter operations to begin as well as the final Neighborhood Plan.
6. Continued engagement – An additional community engagement session is held 3-6 months after the shelter opens to gather feedback about implementation and any needed amendments.

Ordinance #896 will regulate camping in unincorporated Washington County on public property including natural areas and parks, tax foreclosed properties, lands purchased for public projects, and the public right-of-way.

Private property owned by individuals or businesses, including HOA owned parks, will continue to report camping activity to law enforcement to trespass individuals as needed.

City jurisdictions are currently developing or implementing their own Public Camping ordinances. For individual city approaches, see links below:

• City of Beaverton
• City of Forest Grove
• City of Hillsboro
• City of Tigard

Rent debt from April 1, 2020 through the current date, owed by current tenants. LCF does not cover damages, fees, utilities, security deposit, etc.

Landlords are required to provide the Declaration of Financial Hardship for Eviction Protection to tenants. The form is also required under HB 4401 to receive grant assistance from the Landlord Compensation Fund program. Landlords are encouraged to educate their tenants on the importance of this form and/or to give (or provide) information to tenants that may connect them with tenant support agencies that may help them better understand their rights under HB 4401 (OJD Notice of Eviction Protection). OHCS does not have the authority to make a payment without the Declaration of Financial Hardship form for each eligible tenant.

Residents are not required to provide the Declaration form, but may be subject to eviction for non-payment if they have not provided the form and:

• They are late with current rent starting January 1, 2021; or
• They have not paid their back-due rent from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, by March 31, 2021.

OHCS encourages landlords to contact their attorney for legal guidance.

To report potential fraud or concerns, send an e-mail to [email protected].

The housing authority has 244 units that range in size and bedroom configuration and are scattered throughout Washington County. They include single-family homes, duplexes, and multi-family apartments that consist of one to four bedrooms. Of these units, 19 meet the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements.

All households with an RLRA voucher are paired with an agency and a case manager. The case manager works with the participant to understand the rules and responsibilities of tenancy, including reviewing all program and building rules. They provide housing retention case management and connections to ongoing supportive services as needed to ensure stable tenancy.

There is regular contact between the case manager, the landlord and the tenants to work collaboratively towards a successful tenancy by addressing issues before they result in lease violations or damages, including a commitment to return all communication within 2 business days.

If your landlord applies for this program, they will need to provide detail on the rents charged, and rents received for all units in their building going back to April 2020. If they have current tenants with past due rent, they will need to let them know through a written notice that they are going to apply for the program, include any signed tenant Declaration of Financial Hardship for Eviction Protection that they have received, and will also need to provide the state with basic contact information for those tenants.

The Community Guidelines for Equitably Siting Shelter include several conditions to determine whether a proposed location is appropriate for shelter. A location does not have to meet all conditions to be selected – rather, staff consider the combined priority needs. Considerations include:

• Logistical needs such as size of location, condition of property, utilities
• Access to frequent and reliable transportation
• Access to services, employment and community resources
• Geographic and demographic distribution
• Impact on local communities or sensitive public services such as schools, playgrounds, or public parks.

Community feedback is not sought for specific potential locations of future shelter programs. Until a shelter location is confirmed, there is no formal community engagement. This allows for real estate and landlord negotiations to be established and for staff to determine site viability.

You will need to complete an Interim Change form, and submit it to your caseworker, together with the required attachments.

If the initial risk assessment scores above 75, or if an encampment on a two-week grace period receives a follow-up score above 50, campers will be notified of the County's intent to close the encampment for cleaning. The notice could be as long as 5 days or as short as 72 hours, depending on the specific circumstances. In addition to personal contact, notices will be posted advising residents of the cleanup and the need to remove their personal property from the site. Any remaining items will be carefully inspected and those that are "reasonably recognizable as belonging to a person and that has apparent utility" will be inventoried, bagged and stored for a period of 45 days. Campers will be notified where and how they can retrieve their abandoned personal property at a later date.

Key components of the program will be absorbed into overlapping County departments. For instance:

• Emergency shelter, outreach services, and long-term housing support services will continue to be administered by our Homeless Services division within the Department of Housing Services.
• HOPE deputy will continue to interface with people experiencing homelessness in our community where law enforcement is needed.