COVID-19 sweeps the nation and our government stands idly by while the working class struggle to afford basic human needs. They speak calmly, assuring us of a light at the end of the tunnel despite thousands of deaths and millions losing their jobs.
We know that there’s no hope if we can’t house our children, our loved ones, ourselves. As renters and workers, we cannot allow the powers that be to continue to exploit us during this time of crisis.
For these reasons and more, we are asking you to organize, participate in, and support rent strikes, tenants’ unions, and movements for a rent freeze in your local community and beyond. United in solidarity, we’ll show the elite class, landlords, and real estate developers that we will not accept the devastation of our communities in the name of short-term profit.
Resources
Articles & Manuals
- How to Create a Rent Strike
- Tenant Organizing Guide
- IWW – COVID 19 Organizing Toolkit
- The Tenants Will Win:
TANC Pandemic Organizing Guide - Ann Arbor Tenants Unión Manual
- #RentStrike Movement Building for April 1, 2020: Some Thoughts and Considerations
- 5 Demands Global Rent Strike Map
- COVID-19 Emergency Tenant Protections Map
- Between Eviction, Infection, And Refusal: What You Need To Know About The April 1st Rent Strike & How To Plug In
- Met Council on Housing: What to Do on April 1st
Letter Templates:
Organizations:
United States
Alaska
Arizona
- Arizona Tenants Advocates - (480) 557-8905
- Phoenix Tenants union
Arkansas
- Arkansas Renters United - [email protected] - (501) 376-7151
California
- LA Tenants Union - [email protected] - (213) 986-8266
- The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment – Rent Strike Movement - [email protected]
- Drop Rent Santa Cruz
- San Francisco Tenants Union - [email protected] - 415-282-6622
- Tenants and Neighbors Council (Bay Area) - [email protected] - (510) 671-5747
- Tenants Together, CA - [email protected]
- Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco - [email protected] - (415) 703-8634
- Oakland Tenants Union - (510) 704-5276
- Isla Vista Tenants Union - [email protected] - (805) 968-6704
- Sacramento Tenants Union - [email protected] - (530) 564-6245
- Berkeley Tenants Union - [email protected] - (510) 982-6696
- California Coalition for Rural Housing - (916) 443-4448
Colorado
Delaware
- Housing Alliance Delaware - [email protected] - (302) 654-0126
Florida
- Miami Tenants Union - [email protected] - (305) 563-7955
- Palm Beach Tenants Union - [email protected] - (414) 909-9186
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
- Metropolitan Tenants Organization - (773) 292-4988
- Tenants United Hyde Park and Woodlawn - [email protected] - (773) 234-2713
- Southside Together Organizing for Power - [email protected] - (773) 217-9598
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
- New Orleans Renters Rights Assembly - [email protected] - (504) 517-5470
Massachussets
- Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants - [email protected] - (617) 522-5133
- Massachusetts Union Of Public Housing Tenants - [email protected] - (617) 825-9750
- Boston Tenants coalition - 617-423-8609
- Alliance Of Cambridge Tenants
Michigan
- Ann Arbor Tenants Union - (440) 482-1968
- Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union - (616) 236-3010
Minnesota
- Homeline
- Minnesota Housing Partnership - (651) 649-1710
Mississippi
- Cooperation Jackson - [email protected] - (601) 355-7224
Nebraska
- Omaha Tenants United - [email protected] - (402) 957-1862
Nevada
New Jersey
- New Jersey Tenants Organization - [email protected] - 201-342-3775
New York
- Who Owns What in NYC: Who Owns What in NYC
- Chinatown Tenants Union - [email protected] - (212) 473-6485
- Ridgewood Tenants Union
- Public Survey for Tenants in Queens
- Housing Justice for All, NY - [email protected] - (585) 315-0826
- NYC Rent/Mortgage Suspension Petition
- Astoria Tenants Union - Alt: http://ourlic.nyc/
- Greater Syracuse Tenants Network - [email protected] - (315) 475-8092
- NY Tenants and Neighbors - [email protected] - (212) 608-4320
- “UHAB” Housing assistance service - (212) 479-3300
- Mt. Vernon United Tenants - [email protected] - (914) 699-1114
- Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) - [email protected] - (212) 533-2541
North Carolina
- Can’t Pay Won’t Pay Durham - [email protected]
- Henderson North Carolina Tenants union - (574) 347-5851
- Greensboro Housing Coalition - [email protected] - (336) 691-9521
Ohio
- Kent Tenants Union (inactive) - [email protected]gmail.com
Oregon
- Community Alliance of Tenants
- PDX Rent Strike - [email protected]
- Portland Tenants United - [email protected] - (503) 836-7881
Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia Tenants Union - [email protected] - 267-753-9637
- PTU guide to organizing skills and collective negotiation with landlords
- Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania - [email protected] - (215) 576-7044
Texas
- Houston Tenants Union - [email protected] - (281) 836-0331
- Tenants Union San Antonio - [email protected] - (210) 281-1477
- BASTA Austin - [email protected] - (512) 522-9984
- Texas Tenants Union - (214) 823-2733
Vermont
- Burlington Tenants Union - [email protected] - 802-391-0688
- Tenants Union of Brattleboro - [email protected]
- Vermont Tenants, Inc. (hotline)
Virginia
- Tenants and Workers United - Alt https://www.facebook.com/TenantsandWorkers/ - [email protected] - (703) 684-5697
- Richmond Tenants Union - [email protected] - 804-219-9424
- Roanoke Tenants Union - [email protected] - (540) 339-6737
Washington
- Tenants Union of Washington State - [email protected] - (206) 723-0500
Washington DC
- DC Tenants Union - [email protected] - (202) 681-8272
- DC Tenants’ Rights Center - [email protected] - 202-681-6871
- Reclaim Rent Control
- Stomp Out Slumlords, DC
- Empower DC - [email protected] - (202) 234-9119
Wisconsin
Updates
MAY 1, 2020
- On Strike — No Rent
- How Rent Strikes Work: Tenants Can Maximize their Leverage by Banding Together
- #CancelRent Is New Rallying Cry for Tenants. Landlords Are Alarmed.
- Drake Tenants Union Lead Rent Strike in Drake-Owned Apartments
APRIL 30, 2020
- Tens of Thousands of Tenants Are Planning the Largest Rent Strike in Decades
- The Era of the Endless Rent Strike
- D.C. Tenants Plan Rent Strikes, Hoping for City’s Help as Coronavirus Shutdown Continues
APRIL 28, 2020
- New York City Tenants Want the State to Cancel Their Rent. So They’re Going on Strike.
- May 1 is Approaching. Tenants Plan Rent Strikes as Pandemic Cripples US, Survey Says
- Thousands Expected to Join Rent Strike This Week as Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc on Household Budgets
- Some Tenants are Calling for a Philly-wide Rent Strike on May 1. Landlords are Holding Their Breath.
APRIL 27, 2020
- Rent Strike Planned for May 1 as Pain of Coronavirus Deepens
- Thousands Of Californians Plan May 1 Rent Strike Amid Coronavirus Crisis
- With May Rent Looming, Some Seattle Tenants Eye ‘Rent Strikes’ as Coronavirus Continues to Upend Lives
APRIL 25, 2020
APRIL 24, 2020
- Private Tenants in Stoke Newington Threaten Rent Strike as Fears of Mass Evictions Grow
- 16,000 Tenants Support the Rent Strike in Spain, According to the Convening Unions
APRIL 23, 2020
APRIL 22, 2020
APRIL 21, 2020
APRIL 20, 2020
- Tenants and Supporters Protest for Rent Freeze at Southern Towers
- Tenant Advocates Call for Cancellation of Rent Outside Garcetti's Home
- Lawyers Dig into Denver City Council’s Call on the Governor to Freeze Rents
APRIL 19, 2020
- Modest Rental Supplements Aren’t Enough. We Need More Public Housing Now.
- New York Activists Announce ‘Massive Wave’ Of Rent Strikes Starting May 1
APRIL 16, 2020
- New York Housing Groups Call for ‘Massive Wave’ of Rent Strikes
- Activist Group Calls For Million-Strong Rent Strike On May 1
- Tenant Advocates Call For Mass Rent Strike On May 1st, As Landlords Seek Bailout
- Tenants Ask Landlords to Cancel Rent Payments Amid D.C. Coronavirus Pandemic
- City Tenants Advocate for a Rent Freeze, Weigh Possibility of a Rent Strike
APRIL 15, 2020
APRIL 14, 2020
- Thousands of tenants on strike, refusing to pay rent
- Hundreds of students in UK sign up to rent strike on May 1
APRIL 12, 2020
- From The Daily: The need for statewide rent and mortgage relief measures
- ‘No Job? No Rent.’: Residents At An Alexandria Apartment Complex Prepare To Strike
APRIL 10, 2020
APRIL 9, 2020
- Rent Strikes & Beyond: Housing strategies that work for the South
- Tenants Tell Us How Their Rent Strikes Are Going
APRIL 8, 2020
- Rent Strike May 1 – Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay!
- ‘If thousands of people couldn’t pay rent April 1, we’ll have millions in May’
- The coronavirus is exposing America’s housing crisis
- Coronavirus in NJ: Hard-hit renters look for government aid, landlord flexibility, even weigh rent strikes
- Brooklyn Renters are Organizing, Sharing Resources and Lobbying Cuomo on Facebook
APRIL 7, 2020
- Rent Strikes Gather Steam as Campaigners Call for Payments to be Waived Completely to Help People Survive Covid-19 Crisis
- Rent strikes loom across Canada as coronavirus kills daily-wage jobs
- Bloomington housing activists help organize rent strikes, tenants unions
APRIL 5, 2020
APRIL 4, 2020
- Rent strikes being organized, activists demand rent forgiveness
- Brooklyn, NY: Tenants On Rent Strike After Landlord Fails To Negotiate
APRIL 3, 2020
- Opinion: Why We’re Going on Rent Strike
- The Rent Strike Revived: What Are People Doing as Cash Runs Scarce?
- Inside one NYC building where renters are going on strike
APRIL 2, 2020
- Rent Strike Spreads Across US & Canada In The Face Of Growing COVID-19 Crisis
- Coronavirus: Bay Area tenant rights group calling for statewide rent strike
- Lost jobs, wages have some Long Island tenants considering rent strikes
- Struggling Grand Central tenants go on rent strike amid coronavirus
- Rent and coronavirus: Some Colorado businesses get an April break while many apartment residents face late fees
APRIL 1, 2020
- Millions of Americans didn’t pay rent on April 1. Now what?
- #CancelRent: Tenants Demand Rent Relief & Organize Strikes as Unemployment Surges Due to COVID-19
- COVID-19: Colorado Rent Strike Groups Fight With Support, Noise
- Seattle’s City Council Wants Rent and Mortgage Relief, But Payment Is Still Due
- Tenants prepare for rent strike as landlords urge normal payments
- Inside Chicago’s Rent Strike Movement
MARCH 31, 2020
- Thousands of tenants across the US threaten to go on ‘rent strike’ and say they will not pay landlords during the coronavirus pandemic as millions are left out of work
- As job losses accelerate, tenants across the country organize rent strikes
- ‘This is about survival’: California tenants plan rent strikes as Covid-19 relief falls short
- Tenants in Oakland are Going on a Rent Strike Tomorrow
- Rent is due Wednesday — here’s what to know about rent strikes and coronavirus-related resources in Chicago
- New York Attorney General Threatens Amazon with Legal Action After Firing of Worker Who Led Strike Over Coronavirus Precautions
- Coronavirus: University students in Bristol staging ‘rent strike’
MARCH 30, 2020
- With Cuomo Silent On Relief, Some Desperate NYC Tenants Say “There’s No Choice” But To Rent Strike
- Chicago Tenants Are Refusing to Pay April Rent
- Rent strike idea gaining steam during coronavirus crisis
- New York galleries seek rent relief from state government in the wake of coronavirus shutdowns
MARCH 29,2020
- As April 1 Nears and Coronavirus Crisis Continues, Demand to #CancelRent Swells
- Rent is almost due, and many Coloradans don’t have the money. Some are prepared to strike
MARCH 28,2020
- ‘Rent has to be paid’: Landlords to work with tenants
- hicagoans Readying for Rent Strike, Calling on City and Landlords to Provide Relief Amid Coronavirus Pandemic: ‘The Hammer is Going to Drop’