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Sept/Oct 1998 issue (#35)

Rent Strikes Help Tenants Strike Back

by Kristen Blum, Free Press contributor
renter

Economic power is the only power tenants hold over their landlords, and sometimes withholding rent or partially withholding rent makes landlords take action.

But one tenant can not do it alone. In order to effect long-term change, rent strikes must be large, well-organized, militant and the last of a series of steps.

New York City tenants waged a city-wide rent strike in late 1963, early 1964, and achieved needed temporary emergency improvements to housing units. However, because the movement lost momentum, the strike did not achieve long-term betterment of the slum-like conditions.

At the University of Michigan, 1200 students in 1969 were involved in a rent strike that focused attention and brought some remedy to their onerous living conditions. This movement also lost its drive over time, though, and no long-term changes were made.


...the greater the size and the more militant the strike, the more politicians fear civil disorder and the more likely they are to take tenants' concerns into consideration
 

The Muskegon Heights, Michigan, rent strikes in 1967 and 1968 made history and still serve as the leading example of a successful strike. Organized by a strong respected tenants' union, the tenants at the East Park Manor public housing project took control of their situation. They tried writing letters to the Public Housing Commission and expressing their concerns about the state of their housing. When they didn't receive a response, they organized in mass numbers. They withheld their rent and stood strong in the face of evictions, continuing to press for improved housing conditions and a new Public Housing Commission.

The tenants offered to go to jail as they struggled for their demands. As a result of their strength, organization, and their numbers, they won their pleas. The city agreed to radical improvements to their living conditions, and it replaced three of the five Public Housing Commissioners with tenants' rights supporters. (Detailed accounts of this and other rent strikes can be found in the book Tenant's and the Urban Housing Crisis, edited by Stephen Burghardt, New Press)

It has been found that the greater the size and the more militant the strike, the more politicians fear civil disorder and the more likely they are to take tenants' concerns into consideration. A well-organized strike, likewise, is perceived as even more of a threat by the political establishment.

Other Steps First

Tenants should first try and solve their problems through legal means, said Scott Winn, community education coordinator of the Tenants Union of Washington. A strike is necessary only if there's no other alternative, no time to move and find new housing.

Tenants should first attempt to make landlords follow the laws by initiating a dialogue. Secondly, tenants should call building inspectors if the condition of the building is a problem. If these steps don't resolve the problem, tenants should form a collective council and then think about a strike. The more people that can unite to strike, the more effective it will be.

"If one tenant does it [withholds rent], it's not effective, but if every tenant does it, the landlord is more likely to do something--to bargain with the tenants or get some demand met," said Winn.

Rent strikes may be able to help improve living conditions, get emergency repairs done and assist in relocation assistance. However, because cities are barred from implementing rent control in Washington, protesting increasing rents is not effective, said John Fox, coordinator of the Seattle Displacement Coalition.

"The city's hands are tied; the city can't implement rent control," said Fox.

Fox suggests that rent strikes be tied to effecting legislation to ameliorate the city's housing crisis such as the "Right of First Refusal" measure now coming before the City Council. This legislation would give low-income resident a pool of money and up to nine months to purchase their buildings which are for sale or to be converted or demolished. Fox believes the "Right of First Refusal" would make a significant dent in Seattle's escalating rents and housing shortage.

"Do a rent strike, not to challenge the individual owner of a building, but tie it to the call for winnable legislation on the local and state level," said Fox.

If you're considering a rent strike, call the Tenants Union of Washington 206-723-0500.


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