Tiny Heirloom, the Portland, Oregon luxury tiny-home builder once featured on HGTV, is facing a federal racketeering lawsuit, a growing pile of customer complaints and breach-of-contract cases, and an active investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice. The core allegation running through the Tiny Heirloom lawsuit filings and consumer complaints is the same: the company took large deposits, sometimes six figures, and failed to deliver finished homes.
The Federal Racketeering Case
In 2023, a company called Preserve Partners, Inc. sued Tiny Heirloom’s current owners in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. The case, Preserve Partners, Inc. v. Donato et al. (Case No. 23-809), names Ryan Donato, Jeremy Killian, and Heirloom, Inc. as defendants and was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.1GovInfo. Preserve Partners, Inc. v. Donato et al., Case No. 23-809 RICO claims are typically reserved for allegations of a pattern of fraudulent or criminal conduct. The publicly available docket confirms the filing and the parties but does not lay out the specific factual allegations or the current posture of the case.
The RICO suit is not the only litigation. Multiple breach-of-contract cases and contractor liens against Tiny Heirloom were still active in Oregon courts as of early 2026.2Columbia Countercurrent. Portland Tiny Home Builder Faces Wave of Complaints and Some Cowlitz County Buyers Are Still Waiting
What Customers Say Happened
Complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau give a sense of the pattern. One customer reported paying $170,000 in deposits and waiting three years with no home to show for it. Another put down roughly $112,000 in October 2022, then discovered construction had never started and would not be finished by the contract’s December 2023 deadline.3Better Business Bureau. Tiny Heirloom BBB Complaints
Customers who tried to cancel ran into the contracts themselves. Termination-fee clauses allowed Tiny Heirloom to keep a large portion of a deposit even when no building had occurred. In the $112,000 case, the customer alleged the company sought to retain about $65,000 despite no physical construction.3Better Business Bureau. Tiny Heirloom BBB Complaints
In its BBB responses, Tiny Heirloom said it was “ready, willing, and able” to build the homes and attributed the delays to COVID-19, vendor problems, rising material costs, and issues with customers’ land permits and local inspections. The company is not BBB-accredited.3Better Business Bureau. Tiny Heirloom BBB Complaints
Eviction and the Oregon DOJ Investigation
Court filings show Tiny Heirloom was evicted from its Northeast Portland facility for failing to pay more than $153,000 in rent. About a month later, the Oregon Department of Justice confirmed it had opened an investigation into the company, prompted by a KGW report on the unfulfilled deposits.4State Library E-Clips. Portland Tiny Home Company Evicted, Faces Oregon DOJ Investigation No specific enforcement actions from the investigation have been publicly announced.
Is Tiny Heirloom Still Taking Orders?
Yes, at least on paper. The company’s website remained active in its most recent update, listing signature models, custom builds, and pre-owned homes at prices between roughly $85,000 and $200,000.5Tiny Heirloom. Tiny Heirloom Homepage Whether the company is actually building and delivering from a new location after the eviction is not clear from public records. The DOJ investigation and the civil cases in Oregon courts were unresolved as of the most recent reporting.2Columbia Countercurrent. Portland Tiny Home Builder Faces Wave of Complaints and Some Cowlitz County Buyers Are Still Waiting If you have a deposit with the company, the pattern in existing complaints, particularly the termination-fee clauses, is worth reading closely before deciding whether to demand a refund, file with the Oregon DOJ, or pursue a civil claim.