For 19 years, the Oregon Housing Alliance has brought Oregonians to the Capitol to talk directly with legislators about our state’s housing needs. On Thursday, February 5, 153 advocates from everywhere from the Dalles to Ashland, and Bend to Newport, continued that tradition. Some drove for hours. Some were experiencing their first Capitol visit; others have been showing up for years.
Coordinated by the Oregon Housing Alliance, Housing Oregon, Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, and Residents Organizing for Change, this annual day of action brought together residents, organizers, service providers, and local government leaders to meet directly with legislators during Oregon’s 35-day session.
What Happened Thursday
153 advocates representing 58 organizations, resident groups, and municipalities traveled to Salem. Together, we held 71 meetings with Oregon House and Senate members.
One representative’s chief legislative staffer learned about the community land trust model for the first time while we discussed bond-funding to expand it. Many people we met with took a long, deep breath when we broached the subject of disconnecting Oregon from the federal tax code. We took a lot of group pictures.
Residents, front-line staff, and policy experts sat in those offices and shared what legislators need to hear: what it actually looks like to face eviction, to struggle to find the funding to build housing the community desperately needs, to hear stories every day of people’s struggles to stay afloat and feel their anxiety. It takes courage to be that direct with people who hold power over your life and work, but that directness is exactly what legislators need.
Some staffers took notes. Some legislators asked questions. A few made promises. The next four weeks will show which ones meant it.[
What’s at Stake
Over the next four weeks, legislators will make decisions that determine whether thousands of Oregonians can stay housed:
- Emergency rent assistance was gutted last year, and tenant organizations are suffering. The decisions being made right now determine whether that changes.
- HB 4123 (Tenant Privacy Protections) would stop renters’ personal information from being sold without consent. It had its hearing the same day we gathered and will move to a committee vote soon.
- Housing revenue could disappear if Oregon doesn’t protect its budget from automatic federal tax changes–what’s known as “disconnecting” the tax code.
- Some 15,000 units of existing affordable house are at risk of being lost over the next decade; legislators can tackle this looming crisis by establishing a dedicated fund to preserve those homes.
These aren’t policy abstractions. They’re decisions about people’s lives.
2026 Housing Alliance Priorities
With critical decisions ahead, advocates focused on five key areas:
Homelessness Prevention & Emergency Response
- Restoring $10 million in funding for eviction prevention
Preserving Existing Affordable Housing
- Affordable Housing Preservation: $100M in bond funding
Creating Homeownership Pathways
- LIFT Homeownership: $100M requested to build new affordable homes
- Secure dedicated funding for downpayment assistance, by ending the state’s tax break for vacation properties.
Tenant Protections
- HB 4123: Tenant Information Privacy. This bill would protect renters’ personal information from being disclosed or sold without consent.
Revenue Protection
- Disconnecting from federal tax changes: When federal tax policy changes, it can automatically reduce Oregon’s housing revenue. “Disconnecting” means Oregon protects its housing investments from tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy that were enacted by Congress last summer.
What’s Next
We planted seeds in those conversations last Thursday. Now we water them. We do it through calls, through testimony, through letters to the editor, through showing up again and again until those seeds become policy that makes people’s lives better.
The legislative session continues through March 9. Housing Opportunity Day was a beginning, not an ending.
Take action:
- Take Action to Protect Tenant Privacy
- Take Action to Restore Eviction Prevention Funding
- Take Action to Fund Downpayment Assistance
- Sign up for action alerts
- Contact your legislators directly about housing priorities
We started the conversation in those rooms. Now we make sure it doesn’t fade. This is how we win, not in one day, but in every day until March 9.
Housing Opportunity Day is coordinated by the Oregon Housing Alliance, Housing Oregon, Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, and Residents Organizing for Change.