Abolish Rent summary

Land ownership in the US has long been a tale of exploitation, beginning with the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Over the past century, policy decisions have pushed the country into an unprecedented housing crisis, especially for tenants.

In the 1930s, President Herbert Hoover declared homeownership the cornerstone of the economy. But the Great Depression shattered that vision – millions were left jobless, homeless, and foreclosed upon. Hoover’s response helped banks provide home loans, which benefited prospective homeowners, but tenants’ struggles were ignored. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal built on this foundation, creating 30-year fixed-interest home loans and bureaucratic structures that boosted homeownership, but also deepened inequality. Black Americans, especially, were shut out. Realtors enforced a code of ethics from 1924-1974, excluding non-white families from certain neighborhoods under the guise of "protecting property values." Redlining – a practice where Black and immigrant neighborhoods were deemed too risky for mortgages – further entrenched racial segregation. Exclusionary zoning laws made it harder for people of color to buy homes, while property in predominantly white areas was appraised at higher values.

Tenants often feel powerless – facing rent hikes, poor living conditions, and the looming threat of eviction. But there is a powerful tool at their disposal: the rent strike. When tenants organize and strike collectively, they can pressure landlords to negotiate for better conditions. One notable example is the 2017 rent strike on Second Street in Los Angeles, led by Mexican immigrant and construction worker Alejandro Juarez.

Juarez received notice that his rent would jump from $840 to $1,495 per month due to a change in building ownership. While legal – because the building wasn’t subject to rent stabilization – the hike was devastating. He and several tenants feared more increases were coming. Seeking help, Juarez attended a meeting of the LA Tenants Union (LATU), where organizer Elizabeth Blaney encouraged him to gather his building’s tenants. At their first meeting, 17 tenants attended – many meeting each other for the first time. They discovered they had much in common: many were immigrants, and a third were mariachi musicians who played at nearby Mariachi Plaza. They committed to collective action.

For tenants, organizing and collective action can be a powerful response to the exploitative practices of landlords and developers. However, what is sorely missing is a right that goes beyond temporary wins – a right to secure housing for all, regardless of financial situation. This right is not currently recognized in US law, nor is it supported by the housing system as it stands.

While it may seem like the solution lies in electing representatives who will champion tenant rights and overhaul housing policies, this is not always realistic. Scandals of politicians accepting bribes from the real estate industry surface regularly, and powerful groups like the California Association of Realtors, one of the largest donors to the state's Democratic Party, hold considerable sway. Despite tenants making up the majority of the population, they remain underrepresented in elected office, which further stifles change from within the political system.

In Boyle Heights, tenants at an East Second Street building transformed their space by creating a community garden beneath avocado trees. Every Tuesday, residents distribute fresh food to those in need, creating a haven of mutual support. In response, their landlord enclosed the garden with cacti and a fence, restricting access – a stark reminder of the threat collective action poses to the profit-driven motives of landlords.

This example highlights a key tension in the housing crisis: for landlords and investors, housing is reduced to numbers on a balance sheet, but for tenants, it represents a space for community, resistance, and belonging. When tenants come together to improve their surroundings, they challenge the commodification of housing and assert collective sovereignty over their environment, which threatens the foundational logic of the rental system. Tenants don’t seek to become property owners, but rather to dismantle the structures that tie renting to insecurity, marginalization, and exploitation.