Abolish Rent

in 2022, los angeles showcased a striking paradox: the world’s most expensive home, a $340 million mansion with five pools and 42 bathrooms, stood in stark contrast to the city’s streets, where an average of five unhoused tenants died daily. this contrast highlights a housing crisis that extends far beyond la, reflecting a system that increasingly prioritizes profits over people. 

across the us, more and more individuals now belong to the tenant class, a group historically overrepresented by immigrants and people of color. today, homeownership is dictated by intergenerational wealth rather than income, and tenants are left vulnerable to displacement, homelessness, and exploitative rents. 

this crisis isn’t inevitable – it’s a product of a capitalist housing system that serves landlords, developers, and officials. but it’s also a system that tenants can challenge. just as the powerful unite to protect their interests, tenants must stand in solidarity, demanding stable housing as a basic human right.

here’s a capitalist fairytale: rental housing is a benevolent service provided by landlords, who offer secure and well-maintained homes while tenants make informed, unconstrained choices about where to live. the tenant's income easily covers the cost of rent, and, eventually, they save enough to buy a home. in the meantime, landlords earn a modest, fair profit.

now, here’s the disturbing reality: in the us, a typical two-bedroom apartment requires four full-time minimum wage jobs just to pay the rent. there are 100 million tenants across the country, and half spend more than a third of their income on rent, with a quarter spending over half. in los angeles, 600,000 people devote 90 percent of their income to keeping a roof over their heads. each night, nearly three-quarters of a million people in the us are unhoused, and landlords file seven eviction notices per minute.

this isn’t a fairytale gone wrong. it’s a system functioning exactly as designed. in the 2010s alone, us landlords made over $4.5 trillion from their tenants. the crisis isn’t about a lack of housing, but about a tenant crisis – a system where tenants' lives are squeezed, displaced, and destabilized. power in this system comes from controlling wealth extraction and physical coercion. landlords hold both.

real estate profits from privatizing land, a common resource, and exploiting housing, a fundamental human need. rent is passive income for landlords, sustained by the hard labor of tenants. and while we may think of homeownership as private, even privately owned homes rely on public investments and infrastructure to remain livable.

tenants, not landlords, create the vibrant communities we love – like black tenants in 1920s harlem and queer tenants in 1960s castro. yet the upward transfer of rent perpetuates segregation and inequality. housing justice begins by recognizing tenants as the creators and defenders of their communities.

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.

the new deal did introduce public housing, which shielded some tenants from predatory landlords. however, real estate interests lobbied to cap its reach, leaving most tenants stuck in slums while public housing became a last resort for the poorest. by the 1950s, attacks on public housing were framed as a defense against communism, with developers and landlords arguing that public housing would turn the us into a socialist state. this rhetoric sought to protect private homeownership – a system that compels individuals to prioritize personal property over community. in contrast, social housing fosters tenant solidarity and collective action.

suburbanization after world war ii further reshaped housing. common land was transformed into single-family homes, triggering cycles of consumerism and reinforcing traditional gender roles. as suburban homeowners fled cities, urban tax bases shrank, and communal resources like parks and public transit suffered. tenants in urban areas were left behind in crumbling infrastructure.

the 1980s introduced social housing policies that still shape today’s landscape. reagan’s low income housing tax credit subsidized affordable housing development but mostly benefited private developers. rent caps were temporary, and the end result favored the market. meanwhile, reagan slashed the housing and urban development budget by 80 percent, further undermining tenant support.

in the same decade, the prison population exploded, fueled by policies like "broken windows" policing, which criminalized minor infractions in poor, mostly urban communities. the growth of private prisons, in turn, exacerbated housing insecurity, as people funneled through the criminal justice system faced further discrimination when seeking housing upon release.

the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis pushed millions into tenancy. predatory lending practices caused mass foreclosures, stripping people of homeownership and flooding the rental market. from the early 2000s and into the 2020s, gentrification saw property developers return to cities, displacing long-term residents and driving up rents. once again, tenants were left vulnerable in a system designed to prioritize wealth extraction over stable, affordable housing.

the housing crisis is not just a matter of supply and demand – it’s a tenants’ crisis, shaped by centuries of exploitation and policy choices that prioritize profit over people.

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.

the new landlord was marketing "luxury refurbished apartments" while capitalizing on the area's vibrant musical culture by rebranding the location "mariachi crossing" – all while pushing out the very mariachi musicians who made the community special. the tenants first met with the property manager to discuss violations like mold and leaks, but the manager was evasive, claiming rent hikes were needed to cover the building's purchase.

undeterred, the tenants identified the new owner, frank turner, whose company was marketing "non-rent-controlled" apartments in an area slated for new development. when their request for a meeting went ignored, they escalated their efforts – posting signs around the building, holding a press conference at mariachi plaza, and educating themselves on their rights, including their first amendment right to organize and the right to livable conditions.

when the landlord continued to ignore them, the tenants began withholding rent. their strength lay in solidarity – those who could afford rent refused to pay alongside those who couldn’t. the landlord attempted to undermine this by offering individual deals, but the tenants held firm. as the eviction process began, their attorneys stalled proceedings, and the tenants refused individual meetings, insisting on a group negotiation.

after nearly a year of withholding rent, the landlord finally sat down with the tenants, who had garnered support from their council representative, the press, and the community. the final agreement canceled six months of rent, reduced the increases to a quarter of what was initially proposed, capped future hikes at 5 percent, and ensured repairs were made.

rent strikes expose the parasitic nature of the landlord-tenant relationship. by cutting off landlords' income, tenants reveal the system's dependence on them. rent strikes can win significant concessions and, just as importantly, build strong, lasting tenant organizations, empowering people to negotiate, take collective action, and demand their rights.

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.

the more effective path to securing housing rights is through grassroots organizing. landlords and real-estate developers hold significant power because they face a fragmented opposition: individual tenants, each dealing with their own struggles. the key to reversing this dynamic is to unite through tenants unions. these unions should be organized around five core principles to build collective power.

first, building community is essential. tenants are rarely alone in their struggles – problems like a leaky sink, broken amenities, or rising rents affect everyone in a building or neighborhood. when tenants organize as a community, they can share resources, look out for each other, and build systems of mutual care.

second, tenants must organize units of power. this involves creating both vertical structures, such as building-based unions to fight for rights within a specific location, and horizontal structures, which unite communities across a city or region. together, these efforts can resist broader trends of gentrification and housing instability.

third, reclaiming space is a powerful form of resistance. tenants should occupy their homes and shared spaces, not just to prevent evictions but to build a communal presence. holding meetings in lobbies, hosting block parties, or planting community gardens strengthens the sense of ownership and connection to the space.

fourth, experimentation and learning are vital. tenants unions should hold workshops on tenant rights and injustices, embracing non-hierarchical, inclusive models of education that allow everyone to contribute and learn.

finally, tenants need to keep the faith. collective organizing takes time, and setbacks will happen, but the belief in the possibility of a better housing system can keep the movement alive. even in the face of evictions or individual losses, the goal of securing housing for all remains a worthy and necessary fight.

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.

the tenant struggle is ultimately about transforming the relationship between people and land. by fighting against the financialization of housing, tenants can reclaim spaces not as units of profit but as homes. to abolish rent, we must reshape the social relations that make current conditions of land ownership and exploitation possible.

in conclusion, tenants’ collective action not only improves their living conditions but also challenges the economic system that profits from their insecurity. by asserting control over their spaces, tenants can redefine what it means to live in a neighborhood. the fight for housing justice is a fight for sovereignty over the spaces we call home.

in this chapter to abolish rent by tracy rosenthal and leonardo vilchis you’ve learned that . . .

the us housing crisis is driven by a capitalist system that prioritizes profit over people, leaving tenants vulnerable to displacement and exploitation while real estate profits soar. collective tenant action, such as rent strikes and unions, challenges this system by asserting control over housing spaces and building community resistance. to achieve housing justice, tenants must unite to demand secure housing as a human right, rejecting the financialization of homes and reclaiming spaces for collective sovereignty.

okay, that’s it for this chapter. we hope you enjoyed it. if you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. see you in the next chapter.