91ÊÓƵ

The Portland City Council voted Wednesday to extend a housing emergency that would have expired otherwise.

The council first declared a housing emergency on Oct. 7, 2015. It was kept in place with two annual extensions. This week’s action marks the third.

During the housing emergency, the city has passed inclusionary housing rules that require multifamily developers to include affordable units or pay a hefty fee, created an inter-bureau process to speed approvals of affordable housing and instituted mandatory relocation assistance for tenants who are evicted without cause.

The city also replaced Type II design review with a speedier, staff-driven process, Type IIx, for affordable housing projects.

The council on Wednesday also extended the relocation assistance program, which was set to expire on Oct. 6, until April 6, 2018. The relocation assistance program requires landlords to pay a fee to tenants when evicting them without cause or imposing rent increases of 10 percent or more that force their relocation.