Microblog #96

Across the country, tenant unions are growing.

Will 2020 be the year of the tenant? A record number of new legislative pushes from Illinois to California to New York have shown growing renter political power. In states and cities all across the country, tenants are organizing and advocating for rent caps, just cause evictions, and other measures of protection using rent strikes and other tactics to make an impact. Given that renters are the majority in 22 of the country’s 100 largest cities, there is an audience for more organizing.

Closer to home, the recent Richmond Tenant’s Union has formed, along with a District-wide tenants union in Washington, DC. Democratic political candidates have grown increasingly detailed in their policy agendas around rent increases and tenant rights. Keep your eye on Washington, DC as they face major decisions in the upcoming year around rent control laws that govern 80,000 units in the District and are set to expire in December 2020.

NOTE: HousingForward Virginia does not take positions on specific housing policies and initiatives. Our mission is to inform and stimulate dialogue about the need for affordable housing.  We regret if the initial headline to this blog post implied otherwise.


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