What Oregon’s 2026 Legislative Session Changed for Builders
Oregon’s 2026 legislative session wrapped in early March, and a handful of the bills that passed carry real implications for contractors and developers working in the Portland metro area and beyond.
One of the more closely watched changes affects affordable housing requirements in multi-unit developments. Under a new provision, cities and counties within the Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area will no longer be able to require developers to include affordable units in multi-unit housing projects unless they first calculate the financial losses the developer would incur from providing those units — and then offset those losses. The requirement takes effect for rental housing starting January 1, 2028, and for other housing types starting January 1, 2029, giving the industry a multi-year runway to plan around it.
Other provisions from the session touch on manufactured housing and prefabricated structures, expanding programs that allow cities or Metro to designate additional land for those housing types — including options aimed at older adults and households earning up to 120 percent of area median income, under a program running through January 2033.
The session also included updates to landlord-tenant law strengthening protections around tenant confidential information, and a delay — via Senate Bill 1513 — in a separate restriction on using “real estate” or “realty” in real estate team names, now pushed to mid-2027.
For builders and developers, the affordable-housing offset provision in particular is worth flagging early: it changes the financial calculus on multiunit projects in the metro area, even though the effective dates are still a couple of years out.
Source:
- Oregon Real Estate Agency, “2026 Legislative Update” — https://www.oregon.gov/rea/newsroom/pages/2026_oren-j/2026-legislative-update.aspx
