Cancel the Rent: A Rising National Rent Strike Movement Gains Momentum
Newly elected Oakland City Council member Carroll Fife speaks to a rally in Oakland, California, calling for cancelling rents. Aja, the daughter of Dominique Walker, stands beside her.
David Bacon
Rent strikes have spread across the country with the spread of the coronavirus. In the pandemic’s first months, 400 New York City families stopped paying rent in buildings with over 1,500 rental units. In May, rent strikes involving 200,000 tenants spread to Philadelphia and elsewhere. Washington, D.C., in September saw tenant unions spring up in strikes at the Tivoli Gardens Apartments and the Woodner, as well as Southern Towers in nearby Alexandria.
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BRATTLEBORO â After months of debate and discussion, the Select Board approved amending an ordinance to limit what landlords can initially charge tenants to one monthâs rent and a security deposit not to exceed the same amount.
Tuesdayâs 3-2 vote did not come as a surprise. Select Board Chairman Tim Wessel and Vice Chairwoman Elizabeth McLoughlin have opposed the proposal from the Tenants Union of Brattleboro on the grounds that it would discourage efforts to bring more rental units on the market.
âThere are better tools to address these barriers of entry,â Wessel said at the board meeting held remotely Tuesday, where there was talk of possibly partnering with Southeastern Vermont Community Action to establish a landlord risk mitigation fund similar to existing programs and an announcement that the town will receive grant funding for a consultant to conduct a study on housing needs in the community.
by Kshama Sawant • Dec 11, 2020 at 2:30 pm We have to fight to ensure big business pays for the housing debt crisis, not working people who have struggled and suffered during COVID, writes Councilmember Kshama Sawant in this guest editorial. Getty Images
The last nine months have inflicted the greatest economic suffering on working people since the Great Depression. Tens of millions in the US have lost their jobs or income since the start of the pandemic. Nearly one in four households have experienced food insecurity this year. Tens of millions have been unable to pay the rent, and a recent study estimated that 30 to 40 million households could face eviction next year. US Census data revealed that already by the end of October, over half a million renters in Washington state had been forced to accumulate credit card debt or seek short-term loans to meet their basic needs, including rent.
The Spokane Regional Health District has received about $8 million in CARES funding distributed by the county. A
s COVID-19 made its first wave across the country, and schools and businesses shut down, Congress passed the CARES Act this spring in an effort to dampen the economic fallout of the pandemic. Spokane County received about $91 million from the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, signed by President Donald Trump on March 27. That meant that three Spokane County commissioners Republicans Al French, Josh Kerns and Mary Kuney got to decide how to dole out money to affected businesses, government agencies and nonprofits. The money has to be spent by the end of this year.