Tenants union
A tenants union, also known as a tenants association, is a group of tenants that collectively organize to improve the conditions of their housing and mutually educate about their rights as renters.[1][2] Groups may also lobby local officials to change housing policies or address homelessness. As of 2018, in the United States, two states and D.C provide significant rights to tenant unions, and twenty-nine other states provide legal protections to tenant union organizing.[3]
For the Estonian political party, see Tenants' Union.Process[edit]
Usually the process starts with a group of tenants creating a written list of demands. One tenant with legitimate complaints about building safety, high rent, maintenance issues, landlord harassment, and other harmful practices is easy to ignore. An organized group of tenants with a list of specific demands is more likely to get a landlord negotiating. No "official" recognition is required in order for a tenant union to be legitimate and impactful. United States of America federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on race, gender, religion and other protected identity categories, but it doesn't explicitly protect tenants' right to organize collectively.[4]
The goal of a tenants union is to empower people to fight for housing as a human right through tenant-run or community-controlled housing, or reforms such as rent control.[1][5] In the United States, tenant unions in the state of New York have pushed for the passage of just-cause eviction laws following the end of COVID-19 eviction moratoriums. Just-cause could include non-payment, lease violations, nuisance cases, or if a landlord wants to move into the property.[6] Tenants unions in the US have also helped halt evictions and push for tenant bills of rights and right to counsel in Kansas City, Missouri; Tempe, Arizona; St. Petersburg, Florida; and other cities.[7][8][9]