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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Multnomah County commissioners have voted to extend the county’s residential eviction ban until July 2, providing assurance that tenants won’t lose their homes even if Oregon doesn’t extend its statewide eviction moratorium past the end of the year.

The commissioners voted unanimously on Thursday to extend the ban until July 2, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Friday.

State lawmakers are set to meet in a one-day special session next week to consider extending the statewide moratorium and provide aid to landlords whose tenants are behind on rent. Commissioners in Multnomah County — which includes Portland — said they acted urgently because it remains unclear whether the statewide measure will pass next week.

“In this last board meeting of the year, we couldn’t afford to take any chances, and so Multnomah County renters can feel rest assured that at the very least, no matter the state does or doesn’t do, they will be protected from eviction in the new year,” Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury said.

The extension retains a six-month grace period for paying back rent, beginning July 2.

Oregon’s largest county issued its eviction moratorium in March, at the pandemic’s outset, and extended it in September. The moratorium would have expired on Jan. 8 had the commissioners not acted.

As many as 150,000 Oregonians could be behind on rental payments by January, according to a report from the National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies.

The number of renters behind on payments has risen sharply during the pandemic and may now constitute 1 in 4 tenants statewide, according to industry data. Economists and housing advocates have warned of a wave of evictions if the moratoriums lapse.