Tenants Sue Over Conditions at Affordable Housing Complex

Residents of an Oregon affordable housing complex say their living conditions are inhospitable and they want their rent back.

Tenants at the Allen Fremont Plaza in Northeast Portland gathered in the courtyard of the three-story complex Wednesday, describing mold, vermin and people who don't live there camping in the building’s indoor common areas.

Elderly low-income tenants are taking their landlord to court after they say the company has been breaking Oregon law for years, leaving them in unsafe and dirty conditions.

The owners promised to fix problems seven years ago, but since then tenants say they have been forced to live in unsafe, filthy conditions because the landlord fails to maintain the property.

Emily Templeton, the attorney representing the tenants, explained “these habitability issues have been ongoing for years, and the landlord has done nothing about it. Many of these tenants are elderly. They’re on a low fixed income. They can’t afford to do these repairs themselves.”

It seems that occasionally affordable housing and liveable housing may not be the same thing.