Holding Landlords Accountable:

Sharing Strategies for Organizing and Escalation

An Evening of Strategizing and Solidarity-building

Monday March 8, 2021 @ 6:30pm

Welcome to

Overview

1. Tenants’ Rights
2. Escalation Strategies
3. Risks & Mitigation Strategies
4. Q&A and open discussion

Knowing your rights is FOUNDATIONAL to action.

• You have the legal right to safe and healthy living conditions.
• Your landlord has a legal obligation to provide that.
• When that right is not fulfilled, tenants’ have a right to collectivize and organize, withhold their rent, and pursue a rent abatement.

TENANTS’ RIGHTS

https://www.righttocounselnyc.org/nyc_tenant_history

Then you escalate to apply pressure until your rights are fulfilled.

Individual

• Documentation
• Formal Letter of Complaint
• Involve Electeds

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Collective

• Door-knocking
• Tenant meetings
• Collective letters to landlord
• Joint meetings with management
• Media outreach
• Rallies and pressers
• Withholding rent

STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIZING & ESCALATION

Documentation!

• Submit work tickets
• Call 311
• Email up chain of command
• Track EVERYTHING!
• Back up your records!

Formalizing Your Complaint

Tutorial Video: https://app.justfix.nyc/en/loc/splash?utm_source=orgsite&utm_medium=productcta

So far, we have submitted almost 160 and are building lawsuits against QBN, QBS, Ravenswood, Astoria and Woodside Houses management offices.

Queensbridge

Ravenswood

Example: Addressing a gas outage at Astoria Mansion

Review of Strategies

• Share grievances & build power through door-knocking and tenants meetings - Who else is having problems, how do they compare, educated on tenants’ rights, list demands, discuss strategies.
• Create an easy & secure way to communicate (WhatsApp or Signal group)
• Put demands in writing & publicize - letters of complaint, statements, petitions, social media, (public) letters to elected officials, media outreach, press conferences and rallies
• Pursue legal strategies like individual or collective HP Action
• Withhold your rent
• Work with elected official to create legislative solutions that expand protections for tenants going forward

Iterative rather than linear!

Retaliation is a real risk.

“calm down”

Example: NYCHA’s response to a gas outage at Woodside Houses.

“If a tenant takes one of the aforementioned legally-permitted measures, a landlord may not then substantially alter the terms of the lease, such as by either refusing to renew a lease to a tenant for at least a year or terminating the tenant’s lease. To do so is considered retaliation by a landlord if such action is taken within six months of a tenant exercising one of the aforementioned rights.”

https://www.queenslandlordtenantlaw.com/blog/2016/10/landlord-retaliation-prohibited-when-nyc-tenants-exercise-rights/

Example: Retaliation against a tenant at Queensbridge Houses.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGK7NFxlBAX/

How can you mitigate the risk of retaliation?

• Know your rights (Landlords lie and gaslight.)
• Document everything (This may become a legal strategy down the road)
• Collectivize with neighbors and get organized (Build Power! There’s strength in numbers!)
• Easy line of communication
• Clear set of demands
• Escalation plan
• Notify media, broader community and elected officials (Exercise your power to build more power!)
• Secure legal support and counsel (In case a legal strategy is needed down the road.)

Questions, Comments, Discussion!