From a new article in In These Times by Philippa Rizopoulos, a fellow at Partners for Dignity & Rights.

Renting a home in the United States too often feels like a game you’re predestined to lose. Landlords jack up the rent, refuse to make necessary repairs, or evict you on a whim. Too many tenants are being pushed out of their homes, often illegally, and they don’t have the money, or the know-how, to fight it. Who can afford a lawyer when you can’t afford the rent? 

This situation is untenable, and across the country, more and more renters are joining together in tenant unions to protect their housing rights. In California, a loose coalition — which includes the Debt Collective, LA Tenants Union, The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, and anti-eviction lawyers and legal service providers — has come up with another important tool that is already helping thousands of renters: the Tenant Power Toolkit…

Read the rest of the article at the In These Times website.

Photo by Rob Robinson.