Stop paying, same as any other boycott? I’ve done this thought experiment before, and while I think tenant unions are possible (and very much needed), they definitely aren’t as simple to implement as labor unions.
To start, people would need to live more minimalistically so that “just moving out” can at least be a (last resort) tool in the union’s toolbox. This makes tenant unions antithetical to consumerism, a quality not shared by labor unions.
To really thrive, tenant unions would also require people to actively know and interact a lot more with their neighbors, again fighting the trend of increasing social isolation and complacency caused largely by corporate (read: for-profit) social media.
Personally, I want to see a sharp increase in co-living (a.k.a communal living). That would greatly lower the buy-in threshold for tenant unions to really take off, not to mention all the other mental, social, financial, and environmental benefits.
100 people can pool their money together and hire a really good lawyer. 1,000 people could destroy a property management company. $20/month per household would add up fast.
Stop paying, same as any other boycott? I’ve done this thought experiment before, and while I think tenant unions are possible (and very much needed), they definitely aren’t as simple to implement as labor unions.
To start, people would need to live more minimalistically so that “just moving out” can at least be a (last resort) tool in the union’s toolbox. This makes tenant unions antithetical to consumerism, a quality not shared by labor unions.
To really thrive, tenant unions would also require people to actively know and interact a lot more with their neighbors, again fighting the trend of increasing social isolation and complacency caused largely by corporate (read: for-profit) social media.
Personally, I want to see a sharp increase in co-living (a.k.a communal living). That would greatly lower the buy-in threshold for tenant unions to really take off, not to mention all the other mental, social, financial, and environmental benefits.
100 people can pool their money together and hire a really good lawyer. 1,000 people could destroy a property management company. $20/month per household would add up fast.