Message from Traci: With passage of SB 51, HDC prepares to deploy $3.3 million to stabilize properties

Oregon legislators heard a clear message from housing advocates during the spring 2025 legislative session: The operating environment for affordable housing has radically shifted since 2020. Expenses have increased at a rate more than double what was projected. Families are less able to pay rent. Many properties, including newer ones, have no financial path to adjust. Consequently, Oregon is on the brink of losing affordable homes even as we are pulling out all the stops to build them.

A housing preservation work group, joined by HDC staff and supported by allies from across the state, urged lawmakers to act. We asked the legislature to authorize regulatory changes and $285 million in spending and capital investments—an unprecedentedly large sum—to help stabilize struggling properties and to support residents facing the threat of eviction.

Senate Bill 51 was one of the less costly but important preservation measures put before the legislature. The bill aimed to do two things: One, codify that Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) is charged with preserving affordable housing. Two, fund efforts to strengthen property and asset management capacity at Oregon’s affordable housing properties—and thus enable owners to adjust to the new economic realities. The bill stipulates that OHCS will contract with HDC to fulfill the funded objectives. 

“The SB 51 funds are all the more crucially needed, at this moment, because of the shortage of overall preservation funding in the 2025-2027 biennium.”

Disappointingly, the legislature delivered only $50 million of the $285 million requested. Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 51 at half the proposed budget, cutting dollars specifically designated to support culturally responsive property management. The final bill authorizes $2 million in spending to improve property management outcomes at Oregon affordable housing properties; and $1.3 million to provide asset management training to owners.  

The SB 51 capacity-building funds, $3.3 million in total, are scant in comparison to the threats being addressed. But they are all the more crucially needed, at this moment, because of the shortage of overall preservation funding in the 2025-2027 biennium. HDC is moving with urgency to deploy the funds. 

What will this process look like? At present, HDC and OHCS are solidifying contract deliverables in line with the legislative mandate. The next step is to engage partners to determine how the target outcomes can best be achieved over the two-year spending period. Additionally, by the 2027 legislative session, we know we must be prepared to report back to lawmakers about how the funds they allocated made a difference; and to recommend adjustments we can make, as a state, to continue to deliver on our promise to house Oregon’s seniors, working families, and people without a place to call home. 

Here are some current assumptions about the path ahead, shared with awareness of the many impacted stakeholders who have yet to weigh in. 

Roles. HDC’s asset management team, led by Kimberly Taylor, will coordinate implementation of the funded SB 51 priorities. HDC will act in the roles of training and technical assistance provider, sub-grantor, and partner convener. 

“We intend to work creatively with partners across our industry to capture opportunities to bring about immediate gains and to determine what is needed for lasting change. ”

Improving property management outcomes. Of the two major scopes of work outlined in SB 51, we expect that improving property management outcomes will be the heavier lift. The sources of our industry’s property management challenges are complex and difficult to influence. We intend to work creatively with partners across our industry to capture opportunities to bring about immediate gains and to determine what is needed for lasting change. 

As noted above, SB 51 authorized $2 million in spending to improve property management outcomes. The bulk of these funds will be granted to “nonprofit corporations, federally recognized Indian tribes in this state, local governments and housing authorities” statewide for the purpose of measurably “improving occupancy rates, expediting move-ins, preventing evictions, reducing residential turnover and enhancing the well-being of residents in affordable housing projects” immediately. 

The balance will be targeted to have an impact on the long-term outlook for affordable housing property management in Oregon. These funds will be used for “developing and delivering resources for training and capacity-building to improve property management operations and practices at affordable housing projects.” We do not believe that these objectives can be achieved before engaging the property management industry directly.

Providing asset management training. HDC is passionate about empowering community-based affordable housing owners to oversee their portfolios with confidence. Our asset management team is deeply experienced in this work and is excited to use SB 51 resources to deliver training and technical assistance opportunities at a large scale. Engaging with owners to understand their individual and changing training needs will be part of the process, and we expect the work will include helping understaffed owners to hire and train new asset managers.

Timeline. The implementation plan is in progress. OHCS must deploy all the funds by June 30, 2027. We must also be ready to share recommendations and information about results with legislators during the 2027 session.

Communication. HDC will ensure that information about training, engagement, and funding opportunities is widely distributed. Please reach out to our team with questions and suggestions at any time.  

Kimberly, her team, and I look forward to working with OHCS and with partners statewide to improve the stability of Oregon’s affordable housing properties. I believe that property stabilization is the highest priority in affordable housing right now. I am confident that, together, we can use SB 51 funds to deliver meaningful, equitable outcomes—for properties, for owners, and, most importantly, for residents.