The state has revoked the licenses for all but five rooms at the Motel 6 in Portland after an inspection found a cockroach infestation, forcing the city to start working to move out dozens of families who are living there on an emergency basis.

Motel 6 is one of very few area hotels that accept housing vouchers from the city’s General Assistance program, according to Aaron Geyer, the city’s social services director. As of Tuesday, 64 families – mostly asylum seekers – were living in the motel, he said.

Portland has seen a stream of asylum seekers arrive over the last few years. More than 1,600 asylum seekers arrived between Jan. 1 and the end of July last year, when city staff stopped recording the data. The city has been relying on motel programs, a new shelter and other solutions to find enough housing.

The issues at the Motel 6 now mean the city has one less option, Geyer said.

“This certainly presents a challenge for us because those units are no longer available,” he said.

A spokesperson for the city said staff conducted an inspection after a complaint against the motel was filed with the state, though she could not provide specific information about the complaint.

A city inspection “confirmed the presence of cockroaches,” according to the notice of violation the city sent to the hotel Monday. The notice acknowledged that the hotel already has “an active and satisfactory remediation plan in place to address this issue.”

The state Department of Health and Human Services notified the city on March 18 that it had reduced the number of licensed rooms at the motel from 128 to five. And, according to the city, at least 74 of the occupied rooms were also not registered as long-term rentals, which are subject to rent control and tenant protections.

When a Press Herald reporter went to the motel Tuesday afternoon, they were immediately asked to leave the property, and the manager on site declined to answer any questions. Motel 6’s parent company, G6 hospitality, said they could not talk about the violations Tuesday.

The hotel has until July 1 to fix the issues or face fines of at least $100 per day. The fines would be retroactive dating back to March 18, according to the city’s notice.

The families will be allowed to continue living at the hotel until then, but Geyer said the city is working to move them out sooner. Geyer said he did not have information about the conditions of the rooms.

Geyer said he is concerned about getting all of the families into housing and noted the city has had some success transitioning asylum-seeking families into permanent housing over the last few months. He chalked that up to the City Council’s renewed investment in the resettlement program.

The city has also sent staff members to the motel to help guests make plans for their next housing placement, Geyer said.

“Our goal is to ratchet up the housing placements and to try to get folks out,” he said.

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