Becoming a Member

Becoming a member in PTU is easy and the best way to support the work of PTU and Portland renters. You choose your own dues based on your ability to pay (including if you cannot pay at all). If you are a Portland-area tenant or houseless, then you can sign up to be a tenant-member.  If you do identify as a landlord, own a home, get income from someones housing, but you want to show your support and solidarity, then please sign up to be a supporting member.  Tenant members get to vote on issues brought before the general membership and have access to any services offered by PTU.  

Being a dues paying member is the best way to ensure that our work continues to be driven by our members, and not by needing to satisfy big donors and grant funders.  Our independence and commitment to the real needs of our members and not the feelings of elected officials is the source of our power!  

This is what solidarity looks like. Portland Tenants Unite!

JOIN THE UNION!

Please read our mission statement and our Points of Unity. By becoming a member you agree to uphold and stand by these founding documents.  

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Portland Tenants United is to build power and solidarity among the tenant class throughout the Portland metro region as a member-driven tenant union. Through organizing, direct action, coalition building, and civic engagement, Portland Tenants United fights to keep people in their homes, and to achieve dignity and security for all tenants.

POINTS OF UNITY

1. Housing is a human right. We all have a right to a safe, secure, and habitable home Fulfilling this basic human need is critical to maintaining healthy communities and a just and equitable society.

2. Tenants have the right to a reason, to a remedy, and to remain; they will not be displaced without cause, or without recourse and relief from the burden of displacement.

3. Tenants have the right to rent available housing in their communities without discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or gender expression, domestic violence victim/survivor status, political ideology, lifestyle, age, family status, marital status, source of income, disability, non-violent criminal record, health history, rental history, credit score, or subjective assessments by housing providers.

4. Tenants have the right to advocate for their rights as tenants and citizens, and to assert their beliefs and opinions, without risk of retaliatory action that could adversely impact current or future tenancy.

5. Tenants have the power, the right, and the agency to organize for mutual aid and protection, and to determine the rules and conditions of their tenancy through collective bargaining and other means.

6. Tenants have the right to stability, predictability, transparency, and accountability with regard to all contractually bound housing expenditures.

7. Housing providers supply a critical public service that should serve primarily as an investment into the health and welfare of the community, not as a vehicle of personal wealth. As such, they must prioritize the stability, welfare, and dignity of their tenants over the profitability of their property.

8. In order to challenge the exploitation of tenants by housing providers and moneyed interests and to dismantle the current landlord-tenant paradigm, tenants must organize for alternative housing models such as public housing, supportive housing, collective ownership/management models, and cooperative living.

 If you own your home or get income from someone's housing, choose Supporting Member. Otherwise, choose Tenant Member.