Freeze on Portland rents sought

PORTLAND – With affordable housing in demand and homelessness at an all-time high, advocates for low-income residents in Maine’s largest city are calling for rents to be frozen for at least five years.

The Portland Organization to Win Economic Rights said city officials should immediately freeze rents at their current levels and increase the amount of money given to low-income residents for housing.

“Does anybody in this community care?” said Diane Clarke, a member of POWER. “Landlords are raising rents and nobody is saying anything about it.”

POWER’s news conference at Monument Square was punctuated by chants of “No housing, no peace.”

For the past several years, the supply of rental housing in Portland, both lower-cost and market-rate, has not kept up with demand, causing rents in the city to climb to their highest levels in 20 years and forcing some people to live in homeless shelters.

Currently, some two-bedroom apartments in Portland rent for $1,000 or more per month, while one-bedroom units can cost as much as $750. In many cases, those prices do not include utilities.