2026 Legislative Agenda: ​$100m for LIFT Homeownership

The LIFT (Local Innovation and Fast Track) program is the primary state funding source for financing new affordable housing developments. The program has two tracks: Rental and Homeownership.

Neither originally allowed for cooperative ownership, but recently Oregon Housing & Community Services (OHCS) updated the LIFT Homeownership side to be compatible with housing co-ops. This marked a major milestone in creating a replicable financing source for building permanently affordable housing co-ops in Oregon (more detail on that here).

But with the restructuring of LIFT Homeownership to accommodate a greater diversity of homeownership developments, the program is now anticipated to be heavily oversubscribed.

In the 2025-2027 biennium, LIFT Rental received a $700m allocation (88%) while LIFT Homeownership received an allocation of just $100m (12%).

The inclusion of Co-ops within LIFT Homeownership warrants a greater allocation of funding to the program.

That's why we're advocated for an additional $100m to be added to the program during the 2026 legislative session to help fund more permanently affordable housing co-ops!

Download and share a 1-page overview here: