By Kelsey Alford-Jones

The Cheap Art Party, put on by Portland’s Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT), celebrated another successful year on Saturday, Dec. 3. Rich in atmosphere and good cheer, the fundraiser consisted of art ranging from paintings to pottery and jewlery, all priced under $25. People packed into the small Milk and Honey Studio for the event.

“This is really exciting for me,” says Ari Rapkin, who has been with CAT for three years and hosted the first Cheap Art fundraiser in his living room.

Though the theme of the fundraiser is not central to the mission of CAT, it seems a fitting event for an organization that strives to improve conditions and availability of affordable housing. As Rapkin explained, the Cheap Art Party “allows people who often don’t have access to art to have access to that kind of creativity.” Of course, it also raised money, which goes to support CAT program activities. The event, said Rapkin, is an “extremely valuable source of funding because it allows us to focus on what is most urgent.”

For CAT, Portland’s only tenant rights organization, urgent issues abound. Housing prices in Portland have been rising in recent years, including the prices of more “affordable” housing.

Furthermore, income has not kept up with this increase. In the last 15 years, the median price of homes in the Portland Metro area has increased by about 300 percent, while median family income (based on family of four) has only increased by approximately 50 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This increase in housing prices has come for a variety of reasons, including a string of urban renewal projects.

Consequently, Portland has seen a shift of low-income residents from the city to surrounding suburbs. CAT wants to make sure that the government makes a continuing commitment to provide affordable housing for those who need it most. Proposed projects, including one on East Burnside, do include plans for mixed-income housing. However, there is still not enough. Furthermore, much of the focus of federal and local programs is directed at families making 50 to 60 percent of Median Family Income. CAT, however, is concentrating especially on the 0 to 30 percent income bracket, or, generally, families of four with an annual income of less than $20,350.

In the summer of 2005, CAT, along with Affordable Housing Now!, a coalition of organizations and individuals, advocated for $30 million from the Portland City Council to support affordable housing and low-income tenants. So far, the city has allocated $13 million. “This is a big victory,” said Sarah Buckley, an organizer with CAT. The money will provide immediate assistance to house low-income citizens, short-term assistance to renters to pay for housing, and an annual sum to service debt on the construction and maintenance of affordable housing.

CAT is currently gearing up for the spring City Budget Hearing and will be raising some visibility around the budget issue. They are hoping the city will allocate the rest of the requested $30 million.

While CAT works to increase funding for affordable housing, they are also focusing on other important problems facing the renter community: housing in disrepair and issues of landlord-tenant relations. With its Safe Housing Project (SHP), CAT aims to improve the conditions of large multi-family apartment complexes that are in need of repairs, as well as to empower community leaders. There is a lack of enforcement of building repairs, partly due to the fact that Portland has no systematic building code inspections. Renters also fear retaliation when they request that landlords make repairs on their building. CAT is negotiating changes in local building code ordinances, and landlord-tenant laws such as no-cause eviction, and is working on issues of landlord retaliation. The Safe Housing Project is carried out through building-based organizing and encourages collective action in order to achieve repairs. A report of over 60 tenants’ repair problems will be released soon.

CAT is always looking to increase tenants’ awareness about their rights. The Education Program, headed by Rapkin, centers around the Renters’ Rights Hotline. Buckley noted that the resource has become so popular, CAT “just can’t keep up with the demand.”

“The best way to protect rights [as a renter] and to achieve affordable, safe housing is to get involved with CAT,” Rapkin stressed. “We must work together as tenants to achieve change and present a unified vision.”

The organization, now in its ninth year, has about 1,000 members and 6-700 supporters including property managers, out-of-staters, and homeowners. CAT can be found online at www.oregoncat.org, and can answer renter queries through the Renters’ Rights Hotline at 503-288-0130.

Kelsey Alford-Jones is a recent graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa.