20 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
20 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
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title: Rent Struggles
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---
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# What is the politics of rental relations?
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Rent. It comes every month and it takes a portion of the value of our labour which is handed to our landlord. Rent that is negotiated on the market is usually perceived as a question of bilateral agreement between two actors on the market - landlord and a tenant. But renting a home is not the same as renting a bike or a yacht and it should be a subject of strict regulation. States and local municipalities in some cases, inforce rent control that protects tenants against eviction and price increase. Market apologists argue against rent control by claiming that if the state and/or municipal administration push for the rent control, developers will not invest into new housing and therefore we will have a shortage. This, however, has never been proven true. As rent is taking up a large portion of our incomes it is not surprising that tenant unions are one of the main forms of organizing. Because tenants usually don't live in the same place organizing tenants needs innovative tactics. In rent struggles, sometime, as our experience shows, it can prove to be challenging to fight collectively for something that is deemed to be the most private thing; a home.
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**Proposed resources:**
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- **Read the basic info about what we fight for when we fight for better tenant rights:** [Universal rent control](https://jacobinmag.com/2019/06/universal-rent-control-now), [New York, rent control](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/nyregion/rent-regulation-laws-new-york.html)
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**For inspiration on how we organize rent struggle check out:**
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- [London Renter Union](https://londonrentersunion.org/)
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- [Glasgow living rent](https://www.facebook.com/LivingRentGlasgow/)
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**How to work together:**
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Read the proposed articles and look into proposed material before you come to the session. Create a fiction story about renter struggles together. Create different characters and determine their roles in the overall narrative. You can use one of these deeply embodied typology: estate agent, landlord, local government representative, tenant etc. Your story could tackle issues such as: history of rent struggle in Glasgow, a 30 minute meeting of renters facing eviction in the place where you come from, description of renters protest in the close future etc. Use the information from reading material. Write it up. Share your story with other Pirate Care Syllabus users by downloading it on the web page. |