Power from Precarity: Tenant Organizing, Political Power, and Housing Policy

• In Event: Power and Precarity: The Political Economy of U.S. Housing Policy

Abstract

As the pandemic exacerbated housing instability for millions of households, renters faced eviction in staggering numbers—about one in five (more than 10 million people) fell behind on their rent payments, even after multiple rounds of Covid stimulus checks. According to some estimates, eviction rates are 50% higher now than they were prior to the pandemic. In this context, tenant organizations have grown increasingly salient. Hundreds of such organizations exist in communities across the country, many of which are highly engaged in organizing efforts to enact local and state housing policy reforms to benefit renters. As such, tenant organizations represent one of the most robust vehicles for the political engagement of race-class subjugated communities, who are frequently assumed to possess limited political power and influence in U.S. policymaking. Yet, examples abound of tenant organizers helping to secure key policy changes in the face of formidable opposition from powerful actors (landlords, property managers, developers, etc.) and often hostile local political institutions (city councils, rent boards, etc.). To what extent, and in what contexts, are tenant organizations able to influence local political economies to help instigate housing reforms? Drawing on original datasets of 1) the presence of tenant organizations and 2) local and state housing policy reforms adopted across the United States, we systematically explore whether the existence of tenant groups corresponds with the passage of pro-renter policies in their respective locality. Our study offers novel insight into the potential political power wielded by tenant organizations, with critical implications for how marginalized communities influence an American political economy that historically excludes them.

Authors

• Jamila D. Michener, Cornell University

• Mallory E. SoRelle, Duke University