Section Ten: Tenant Organizing

THE PROBLEM – WHY ORGANIZE?

In extreme situations, knowing the law is not enough to protect the tenant’s right to decent housing at an affordable price. Sometimes, when the other options in this guide fail to solve egregious problems, tenants must organize and use their collective political, economic, and social power to overcome recurring problems. Many neighborhoods are currently threatened with low maintenance, high rents, limited rental availability, excessive condominium conversions, arbitrary evictions, inadequate security, and unchecked violations of the tenants’ rights. Almost every tenant has encountered some failure to provide services that are expected when the apartment was rented. The existing laws for getting basic repairs (see Section 6) are surrounded by risks, conditions, and many other problems.

While these related problems may affect different neighborhoods to different degrees, they often result from the same causes and may be changed through the same solution - tenant organizing. One of the prime obstacles to decent housing has always been the conflicting interests of landlords and tenants. The landlord seeks to increase rents as high as the market will bear and to spend as little as possible on maintenance. This economic rule of maximizing profits and minimizing costs often results in shortages of housing at reasonable prices and unsatisfactory living conditions. As housing shortages worsen, landlords feel less economic pressure to keep the rent down and tenants complain less for fear of being evicted with no place to go.

Landlords and the large financial interests with which they work have been able to maintain high profits from substandard housing because they have substantial political influence. Strong trade associations have long advocated the interests of landlords at both the state and local level. Their influence extends to city and county governments, where housing codes may not be vigorously enforced. Even the best housing code enforcement offices in this state are forced to operate under crippling limitations on staff and resources. Also affected are the states legislators who pass laws that favor landlords and repeatedly dodge any progressive legislation that is fair to tenants. Scores of paid lobbyists and "public relations" staff have developed successful techniques for protecting the landlords’ interest. Landlords and real estate interests now dominate the spheres of power (through elected and appointed officials) where decisions are made daily that directly affect the lives of masses of tenants. Despite the myths of neutrality and justice, our political and legal systems have primarily been responsive to the organized special interests such as the landlord industry. They respond to tenants only when their collective strength threatens them. Only if tenants organize and collectively assert their rights will they be protected from the inequities of current laws and achieve positive changes in the future.

Tenants in these situations are faced with a critical choice of either quietly accepting their common housing problems or fighting together for improvements with techniques that have proven effective throughout the country. The needed changes can come about only if the tenants are willing to work for their own interests. While the possibility of fighting a wealthy landlord might at first appear awesome, tenants must recognize the potential of combining their economic, political, and community power. Just as landlords have banded together to protect their interests, tenants must also join together in order to get meaningful improvements in housing conditions. A group of united tenants can collectively exert more pressure for their views than they could individually. In neighborhoods where such collective power has been organized, tenant associations have been instrumental in holding down rent increases, altering leases, and improving the physical conditions, maintenance services, and parking facilities of apartment complexes.

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

The simplest way of showing tenant solidarity is to present the landlord with a signed petition listing the common problems or needed repairs. If unsuccessful, the list can be taken to the housing code inspector and used to arrange for multiple inspections at the same time. The landlord who receives a series of violation notices will be under greater pressure to comply. Once the tenant association has sufficient support, a public confrontation or negotiating session with the landlord should be arranged.

The most powerful weapon of tenants is to withhold rent. However, in Maryland tenants risk eviction for withholding rent unless the specific legal process of rent escrow is followed. Where a large number of tenants can be joined in the rent escrow action, the landlord may be forced to meet the demands even before the case comes to trial. An alternative tactic might be for all to pay the rent late (at the end of the grace period) to show the landlord that the tenants are unified in their demands.

Tenants can use many other strategies to achieve the goals of the organization. Adverse publicity, through handing out literature or picketing, may be more effective in getting changes in some situations. In other cases, illegal evictions may be physically prevented by a large group of tenants who move the furniture and belongings back into the apartment. Tenants acting together can stage mass visits to public officials and lobby for fairer legislation. Letter writing campaigns may be effective in getting laws changed or at least in getting officials involved in the problems. Boycotting an especially bad landlord may be a good tactic. Whatever method is attempted to force the landlord to make needed repairs or correct other problems, it will always be more effective when done by a group of tenants.

Tenant associations are much more likely to achieve lasting changes and can serve as watchdogs over management policies and rent levels. If you are interested in starting a tenant’s association in your area, you could begin by talking to your neighbors to see if they are experiencing similar problems with the landlord. You may be surprised how many share the problem and are angry enough to do something about it. A well-planned and publicized community meeting is the second step for airing grievances and planning strategy. The tenant organizations listed in the following section will assist other tenants in forming an association. Organized tenants can use strategy and their numbers to win battles in the apartment complexes, courts, legislature, and government agencies.