The Cost of Living Crisis No.3: British government solves the housing crisis by moving poor people into sewers. Landlords rejoice at the prospect of making even more money out of the poor.

#CostOfLivingCrisis #housing #landlords #housingcrisis #tenants #ukpolitics #uk #inflation #economy

Do you #rent in #Ontario? Consider helping #ACORN tenants' union by filling out their rental map. From them: "A rental registry means more transparency for renters and better #housing data to protect affordable housing, inform stronger policies, and enforce existing protections for #tenants facing #renoviction or major rent increases."

https://rentalregistry.ca/en/on/form/step-1

It takes 30 seconds to practice #solidarity, which imo is hella rad.

#RentalRegistry #AffordableHousing #TenantsUnion @waterlooregion

#RentControl laws on the national level? Biden administration offers a not-so-subtle push

by Medora Lee, September 6, 2023

"Rent control would prevent #corporate #landlords from profiting by using low-interest, government-backed financing while raising #rents and evicting #tenants, Hoang said.

"Though that may be true, critics say, rent control could hurt millions of people, including some who supplement their retirement with rental income.

"Among 49.5 million rental units, nearly 46% are small rental properties of one to four units, the National Association of Realtors said. More than 70% of those are owned by individuals, or mom-and-pop landlords. About 70% are also managed by them.

"'Cost of rental housing is expensive,' Geno said. 'If they can’t pass on expenses they don’t control, many owners will be upside down.'"

"Many mom-and-pop landlords were forced into forbearance during the 1½-year pandemic-related rent moratorium that allowed tenants to forgo rent payments without fear of eviction. Some even had to sell their properties and defer maintenance on their rentals."

And then corporations bought them up, tore down or gutted the places, then created condos or high-rent housing out of the reach of most people! Creating affordable housing would be great, but it takes time. And judging by the number of homeless and those seeking climate change and political asylum, this problem needs to be solved sooner than later!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/rent-control-laws-on-the-national-level-biden-administration-offers-a-not-so-subtle-push/ar-AA1ggiXW?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=8a51f854e3ac4dd9ce096c7ac81fbc04&ei=6
#AffordabeHousing #HousingForAll #AffordableHousingForAll

"As a result, some now charge fees for moving in and moving out. Some have fees for '#lease #administration' (whatever that is). One Minnesota #landlord collects a $100 'January fee' on the first month of the year."

People who don't #rent don't really understand just how awful the experience has become since they weeded out all traces of being #human from #PropertyManagers.

https://news.yahoo.com/landlords-start-nickel-diming-tenants-211423799.html
#Landlords start nickel-and-diming #tenants with #fees

#IAmDB

One in three tenants borrowed money to pay rent in last month | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rent-increases-borrow-money-b2396775.html

#Tenants
#Rent
#HousingCosts
#CostOfLivingCrisis
#Debt
#Shelter
#SocialHousing
#PrivateRent
#RentersReformBill
#Renters
#YouGov
#AffordableHomes
#AffordableHomesProgram
#Evictions

"WSMV has copies of [two] money orders... [and] you can see that they were both originally made out to 'Holly Tree #Apartments.' [the suspect's] name was written over that.

"When we told the #company about [that], [he] reiterated that the money 'was not deposited into our #account to become our money.' [he] said it was tenants’ money until deposited."

WTF?? 🤬 🤬

https://www.wsmv.com/2023/08/16/property-manager-steals-rent-checks-management-expects-tenants-repay/
#PropertyManager steals #rent #checks, #management expects #tenants to repay

#News #USNews

#IAmDB

August 4
The deadline. Dave told her previously that if she didn't have her stuff out by the end of the day today, we were coming over and hauling it away. No response.

We arrive at 5:00pm. She's there and she's got a friend there, helping her haul stuff out on the deck. We go inside to look around. There is a lot of stuff still to be packed up.

I remark that she's filled all the holes, but she hasn't sanded any of them. I know it's ungracious of me, but I was incredibly upset.

Then the bathroom door opens and out wanders this lady we've never seen before. And there's a smell. Dave describes it as smelling sweet and chemical. I can't describe it at all, but it's strong and unpleasant.

We don't know what the woman was doing in the bathroom. She was in there for fifteen minutes at least, because that's how long we were in the living room for. There was no toilet flush and with no shower curtain in the bathroom, we decide she wasn't having a shower.

Dave contacts a friend who might be able to tell him if the smell was drug-related. The friend listens to his description and asks if it smells like "wrong candy". Dave immediately says that's the right description. The friend says she was probably smoking meth. But the good news is that the smell doesn't linger and soak in, like cigarette or pot smoke.

We work to get her stuff out of the house and on to the deck. Friends come over to help us. We take the stuff outside and our tenant and her crew pack it and put it on the trailer.

#tenants #landlords #rent #drugs #meth

July 31
We show up at the house after work to collect our keys from the tenant. There's no point in doing a walk-through because Dave's given her back her damage deposit already.

She hasn't started packing. I have a panic attack. She says she's lost the keys. I throw up behind the car.

August 1
Still no movement. She says she's trying, but she needs more time. We go home and I have a panic attack that we're never getting our house back.

August 2
Someone's parked a flat deck trailer in the driveway. There's nothing on it, but it's there. She still doesn't know where the keys are.

August 3
Stuff is being loaded on the trailer, but there's still a lot of stuff in the house. She tells us she's filled at the holes in the walls from the stuff she hung up. So at least there's that, I guess.

#tenants #rent #landlords #moving

So. We get my parents moved in. And you'd think that would be the end of the story.

Except it isn't.

Dave and I found ourselves stuck with three houses and we only need two (one for us, one for my parents).

So we put the little blue house from the first post up for sale. Everyone told us we should rent it out while we wait for it to sell. There's a big construction project going on in our town and all of the hotels are booked up with the workers. Everyone assured us that the house would be rented in no time.

We resisted because we both have issues with landlords, never mind actually being landlords.

But we listed it in the winter. And apparently no one buys houses in the winter.

By the time February rolled around, we were getting desperate. Remember how I mentioned we extended every available credit option? Well, now there were bills to pay. And a house sitting empty that no one wanted to buy that still had mortgage payments and utilities.

We caved. We advertised renting the place out. Lots of people were interested, so we'd arrange a time to show them the place and they wouldn't show up.

The only person who did show up was a relative of someone we work with. She's a young, single mother on benefits. She loved the place and our friend assured us she was a model tenant. All she wanted was a cozy little place for her child to feel at home in.

How could we say no? We dropped the rent for her. She said she had construction experience and asked if she could drywall the attic (which had insulation and plastic, but no drywall) for us. So we dropped the rent further to compensate for her work.

The only thing, which we made sure she knew and was clear on, was that the house was still for sale. There might be people coming to look at it. It might sell.

If it sold, we assured her that we knew, by law, she would need to be given 90 days notice. That would be part of any sale. So we did a month-to-month lease. She was good with that. She just really needed a place. We all signed the contract.

#rent #landlords #tenants

#Tenants push #Biden for #rentcontrol on all government-backed #housing
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/07/tenants-push-biden-for-rent-control-government-backed-housing/

Tell the Federal Gov about the rent being too damn high-- it could force landlords who get government-backed loans to behave in ways that protect #tenants.

"As a result of #TenantOrganizing, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie and Freddie, is now deciding whether to condition government-backed loans on a set of tenant protections. These protections could include regulations on rent hikes and evictions, #housing safety requirements, bans on discrimination, and more. If enacted, they could benefit over 12.4 million rental homes across the country."

So before the July 31 deadline, tell this federal agency any stories of rent hikes and struggles due to housing costs here:
https://www.fhfa.gov/AboutUs/Contact/Pages/Request-for-Information-Form.aspx?emci=ff7a0033-1528-ee11-a9bb-00224832e1ba&emdi=23eeb48e-f32a-ee11-b8f0-00224832eb73&ceid=10176568

Comments are *public​* so don't doxx yourself by giving too much identifying information. Unless you want to.

Here's some background info:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17dIbUV_3i4zlgchL6sCqHNv8oNfIQah6BqEzZYPV3qc/edit?emci=ff7a0033-1528-ee11-a9bb-00224832e1ba&emdi=23eeb48e-f32a-ee11-b8f0-00224832eb73&ceid=10176568

And please take a moment to share this with anyone you know who's struggled or been displaced by rents being too damn high.

#Affordability #Tenants #Organizing

#ArtificialIntelligence Is Making #HousingCrisis Worse
#Landlords are turning to private equity-backed #AI screening programs to help select #tenants. Prevalence of incorrect, outdated, or misleading info is increasing costs and barriers to #housing. Even when screening turn up real data, housing & #privacy advocates warn opaque algorithms enshrining high-tech discrimination in already unequal housing market — latest example of how AI can end up amplifying existing #bias
https://www.levernews.com/artificial-intelligence-is-making-the-housing-crisis-worse/

In New Zealand slang, "an empty house is better than a bad tenant" is a phrase that can be said after farting or kicking out your tenants.

#NewZealand #NZ #slang #language #phrases #landlords #tenants #expulsions #QI #notQI

Vice: Tenants Are Fighting to Influence the Bank That Funds Their Landlords https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pka3y9/tenants-are-fighting-to-influence-the-bank-that-funds-their-landlords #HOUSINGCRISIS #signaturebank #Technews #housing #tenants

Update on the water situation at Tara Woods apartments in Jonesboro: water was turned off for a day before the landlord paid part of the bill and water was turned back on again.
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/tara-woods-water-bill-deadline-atlanta/85-ad94585e-2d34-4192-b668-36819778be71

#tenants #rentals #housing #water

Well this is pretty despicable.

Water #service has been disconnected for #tenants in a metro Atlanta apartment complex, due to lack of #payment from the #property #owner — even though tenants are billed and #pay for their water use every month.

And naturally the property owner is blaming his tenants for their predicament. :eyeroll: 😠

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/water-disconnected-atlanta-area-apartments-after-complex-owes-nearly-100k-bill/FGRA5YH6JJALNN3VT3LCKELXHQ/
#Water disconnected at #Atlanta area #apartments after complex owes nearly $100K on #bill

#IAmDB

by #JoshuaFechter in @texastribune

"In a rare, friendly move to low-income renters, Texas lawmakers this year outlawed a form of discrimination that allowed homeowners associations to ban some tenants from their neighborhoods.

"The move — spearheaded by state Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat — was aimed squarely at a North Texas neighborhood that tried to oust poorer tenants who get assistance from the federal housing choice voucher program and keep new ones from taking their place. The voucher program, known as Section 8, pays a portion of a low-income household’s rent."

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/07/texas-hoas-housing-section-8/

#Texas #TX #ChrisTurner #Section8 #vouchers #tenants #HOA #discrimination #racism #TexasTribune

EXCLUSIVE: Campaigners say ‘rental guarantee’ insurance policies drive discrimination and need tighter regulation.

One email we saw from a “rent guarantee” provider urged a landlord to issue a ‘no fault’ eviction notice – a practice the government has long vowed to ban – because a tenant in a south London flat did not have three years’ worth of UK credit history after recently moving to the UK.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/landlord-insurance-income-discrimination-private-sector-evictions/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=newsie_social

#housing #uk #uknews #insurance #landlords #eviction #London #tenants

by #AdamPeggs in #Jacobin:

"If you look across Europe and much of the wider world, there is no correlation between high rates of homeownership and better social outcomes in housing. Many of the places with the best social outcomes in housing, like Vienna and the Netherlands, are characterized by lower rates of homeownership. With this in context, the UK’s obsession with homeownership as a necessity looks increasingly flawed. Instead of a mortgage guarantee, a better alternative might be a 'Council Housing Guarantee.' When landlords decide to up and sell, sitting tenants could request that the council purchase the property. A state financial institution, at the national level, could finance the transaction by drawing on the comparatively lower borrowing rates available to government."

https://jacobin.com/2023/07/uk-housing-crisis-labour-party-homeownership-policy-mortgage-public-housing

#homeownership #PublicHousing #housing #landlords #tenants #rent

Today in Labor History July 4, 1840: The anti-rent association of Berne in the Hudson Valley issued its Declaration of Independence, starting the Anti-Rent War, which lasted until August 1845. Also known as the Helderberg War, the anti-rent war was a tenants' revolt in upstate New York against the patroons, who acted as feudal lords with the right to make laws. The first meeting of the Anti-Rent tenant farmers was held in Berne, New York on July 4, 1839. Leaders of the revolt were tried for riot, conspiracy and robbery in 1845. The first trial resulted in no convictions. A re-trial in September 1845 saw fist-fight between the attorneys who were sentenced to solitary confinement for 24 hours. One defendant, Smith A. Boughton, was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was pardoned by the pro-Anti-Renter John Young.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #rent #protest #prison #NewYork #tenants #revolt #AntiRentWar #LandReform #tax