A new Safety and Security in Property Management survey from Portland State University’s Center for Real Estate puts numbers behind something many Portland property owners and managers already know: property management increasingly involves challenges that extend well beyond leases, maintenance, and rent collection.
PSU surveyed 321 property management professionals in July 2026, including professionals working in affordable housing, market-rate multifamily, and commercial real estate. Nearly half of respondents were property managers, and 45% had more than 15 years of industry experience.
The findings deserve attention from anyone who owns, develops, or manages property in Portland.
What Property Managers Are Experiencing
Survey finding | Result |
|---|---|
Sometimes encounter situations that cause concern for personal safety | 69.50% |
Safety concerns affected stress levels somewhat or very much | 70.72% |
Have avoided a tenant interaction because of safety concerns | 58.27% |
Experienced verbal abuse “sometimes” in the past year | 60.15% |
Experienced intimidation “sometimes” in the past year | 50.78% |
Difficult/aggressive tenants affect other tenants at least half the time | 54.33% |
Have requested security or law-enforcement assistance at work | 75.70% |
Felt laws/regulations limited their ability to address a safety risk | 67.76% |
Source: Portland State University Center for Real Estate, 2026 Safety & Security in Property Management Survey.
These numbers don’t mean every property or tenant interaction is unsafe. Respondents actually reported feeling safe most of the time during many routine activities, including property tours, rent collection, maintenance requests, and renovations.
They do illustrate how much the property manager’s role has expanded in Portland, however.
Safety Extends Beyond the Building
One of the survey’s most interesting findings is where safety concerns originate.
While 32.75% of respondents were moderately or very concerned about tenants, that number increased to 50.18% for individuals in the surrounding neighborhood.
For Portland owners, that’s an important reminder: what happens around a building eventually becomes part of operating it.
Trespassing, vandalism, unauthorized access, activity around entrances, and problems in parking or exterior areas can quickly become management responsibilities and are affecting the property, those operating it and those residing there.
Safety Is Also a Building Operations Issue
Respondents suggested improvements including cameras, lighting, fencing, panic buttons, security patrols, increased staffing, and improved visibility.
At NWV Group, we think that’s part of a larger conversation about how a property functions.
Are entrances clearly defined and controlled? Are exterior areas well lit? Does landscaping create hidden spaces? Can management see who’s approaching the office? Are employees regularly working alone? How do residents, visitors, vendors, and the public move through the property?
These aren’t only security questions. They’re design, construction, maintenance, and property management questions worth asking and solving.
Portland’s Regulatory Environment Is Part of the Conversation
The PSU survey also asked property professionals about the laws and regulations governing their work.
50.59% of respondents said they did not believe current laws adequately protect individuals working at properties who experience threats, harassment, or violence.
And 67.76% said they had felt existing laws or regulations limited their ability to address the behavior of someone posing a safety or security risk.
The report also includes extensive open-ended comments calling for changes to tenant screening, eviction procedures, workplace protections, policing, behavioral-health resources, public safety, and existing landlord-tenant laws. Those comments represent individual respondents’ views rather than findings established by PSU.
What owners can reasonably take from the survey is that many professionals working in the industry perceive a gap between the responsibilities placed on them and the tools available to manage certain situations.
In Portland’s already complex regulatory environment, that makes experienced property management, good documentation, clear procedures, and knowledgeable ownership particularly important.
Designing Safer Properties
At NWV Group, we’ve spent decades developing, constructing, renovating, and managing properties in Portland. That experience has taught us that the physical building and its operations are inseparable.
Architecture can’t solve every management or public-safety problem. But thoughtful improvements — better lighting, clearer sightlines, improved access control, more durable materials, better-defined entrances, or a redesigned management area — can make a property easier and safer to operate.
For Portland property owners, the question isn’t simply whether to spend more on security: Looking at capital improvements alongside operations. Looking at resident experience alongside employee experience. And looking at property management as more than collecting rent and responding to maintenance requests. Together we can make this job, and these properties, a better place to live and operate on a daily basis by prioritizing safety.
Further Reading:
NWV Group – Manage. Build. Invest. Leading integrated real estate, construction and property management services across the Portland metro area.
Check out other posts
