Portland to evict nearly 100 residents from tiny-house homeless villages over stay limits
Nearly 100 people are set to be removed from Portland’s city-run tiny-house homeless villages after officials said they have exceeded the maximum length of stay allowed in the transitional housing programme.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said between 80 and 90 residents will be asked to leave the city’s “Safe Rest” villages starting next month, citing the need to enforce a 120-day limit designed to move people from temporary shelter into permanent housing.
In a memo sent to the City Council on Tuesday, Wilson said the villages were never intended to serve as long-term accommodation and that stay limits are essential to keeping the system functional.
“Stay limits and engagement requirements are nationwide best practices used to encourage continuous progress toward stability, independence, and appropriate housing,” Wilson said, according to ABC affiliate KATU News.
Portland introduced the 120-day stay requirement in September, alongside rules requiring residents to engage with social services while living in the pods. The mayor said enforcing the limits would create space for others living on the streets and help ensure the shelters remain transitional.
However, homelessness advocates have strongly criticised the move, warning it could force vulnerable people back onto the streets.
Molly Hogan, executive director of the Portland-based Welcome Home Coalition, said the policy punishes people for their circumstances rather than solving homelessness.
“Removing people from shelter does not end homelessness – it punishes individuals for being poor,” Hogan said. “What’s shocking about this policy from a mayor who ran on ending unsheltered homelessness is that it will put nearly 100 people back on the literal street.”
The decision comes amid ongoing complaints from residents living near some Safe Rest villages. Neighbours around the Multnomah Safe Rest Village, which has operated for about three years and contains 100 shelter pods, say the area has seen an increase in antisocial behaviour.
“We see satellite camping, drug use and drug sales,” one resident told local outlet KGW8. “There are screaming threats and fights that people can hear at all hours of the night.”
Portland’s handling of homelessness has also drawn national political attention in recent years, with former president Donald Trump frequently criticising the city and portraying it as unsafe. In late 2025, federal authorities deployed National Guard troops to Portland during a nationwide immigration crackdown, a move that sparked protests and backlash from local residents.
City officials say enforcing stay limits at the Safe Rest villages is necessary to maintain order and ensure the shelters continue to serve as a pathway out of homelessness, while critics argue the policy risks worsening the very crisis it aims to solve.
