A tenants union, also known as a renters’ union or a tenants association, is an organization where tenants collectively act to improve housing conditions, assert their legal rights, and influence housing policy
Isn’t this just a housing coop just where the coop doesn’t actually own the property?
Yes, since tenants don’t own the property by definition. But they want to team up to bargain with the landlord
What is their main tool of coercion? Bc in a normal union, a company will struggle filling all the vacated places if workers quit en-masse. But if a union of renters collectively quits, the landlord will have no problem finding replacement tennants in an oversaturated housing market
if one tenant refuses to pay rent, the landlord does several months of housing court paperwork to evict them and loses a few months’ rent. if they have a significant number of units, that’s just business as usual
if all the tenants in a whole building refuse to pay rent at the same time, the landlord is in a financial chokehold. not only would fees for multiple eviction proceedings likely drain their business account, the business account also won’t have new money coming in until all the evictions are completed and a fuck ton of new tenants are found. that’s unrealistic for all but the most gigantic corporate housing conglomerates. the threat of bankrupting the business is the bargaining pressure
The article has a section on tactics. They can engage in rent strikes and other methods to put pressure on the landlord.
