Updated: This post was updated to include more information from the Portland Housing Bureau.

Portland will partner with a local entrepreneur to offer residents a single online destination where those seeking housing can pay for a background check, find housing for which they qualify and apply.

The city will enter a three-year contract with Tyrone Poole, who developed NoAppFee.com after experiencing homelessness himself, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Friday.

Poole "did more than just identify that renters need a quicker, easier and more efficient way to find housing," Wheeler said in a statement. "He created a solution."

The application removes the need for multiple costly applications by screening potential renters against all vacancies.

Portland awarded Poole a $150,000 grant in October after soliciting proposals for a housing-related web tool. That money will go toward adding nonprofits' screening criteria, including median family income, to the application. The city then plans to pay Poole an additional $375,000 over the next three years to maintain the website, housing bureau spokeswoman Martha Calhoon said.

In June, Poole told a crowd in Washington, D.C., that his application would help serve those who most struggle to find a place to live. People with Section 8 vouchers, bad credit, an eviction, a criminal background or who have experienced domestic violence could find housing through his app, he said.

--Jessica Floum

503-221-8306