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  • Renters are rising up to unionise and take on dodgy landlords

    Renters' unions in the United Kingdom have provided more aide recently because the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems facing renters. The Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now is one of the largest renters’ unions in the UK and has been helping members fight illegal evictions and stop landlords from breaking lockdown rules. The group fears a “glut of evictions” when the government lifts restrictions. There are many renters’ unions in the UK, which might dilute their effectiveness, and the combined membership in the thousands is just a small fraction of Britain’s 4.5 million renters.

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  • Co-Op City Succeeds With Census While Much of NYC Struggles. What's Its Secret?

    In New York City, where the average census response rate is only 49 percent, the city's largest co-operative housing complex achieved over a 70 percent response rate, well above the 40 percent rate typical in the co-op's neighborhood of the Bronx. Co-op City, as it is known, has a strong sense of community and promoted the census through its internal TV station, robo-calls, and community newspaper.

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  • Helping Tenants and Landlords Resolve Issues — Before Going to Court

    The city of Philadelphia piloted a mediation program that showed how landlord-tenant disputes could be resolved short of an eviction lawsuit. Though the program only lasted two months and heard just a handful of cases, it demonstrated that landlords will participate voluntarily in a system that can equalize a power imbalance and resolve disputes in ways that prove less damaging to both parties. Demand for the mediation program could ramp up if an expected wave of evictions hits because of the pandemic's effects on the economy.

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  • Tenants Organize to Keep Building Affordable Through Nonprofit Purchase

    Affordable housing in San Francisco is becoming more and more unattainable. When the landlord tried to change its status to not be rent-controlled to not, a group of residents at said building banded together with a nonprofit to preserve the building. A nonprofit, the Mission Economic Development Agency, bought the property from the landlord so that its residents could maintain their rent in a very expensive city. Organizations like MEDA are key to helping the city and its residents transition over time to ownership.

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  • A New Kind of Cooperative in Oakland Fights Against Speculative Development Audio icon

    Real estate cooperatives are able to raise capital from their members, ensuring re-investment in the communitie they serve. In Oakland, California, the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC) finances real estate acquisitions through California’s cooperative ownership model. EB PREC also works with partners from the Sustainable Economies Law Center and the People of Color Housing Network, which provide additional resources and expertise.

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  • They were evicted and had to take their homes with them. But they also won something in return.

    When the mobile park they lived in was sold and evictions were imminent, residents of Oakhaven banded together to demand relocation packages and other rights. While they were eventually forced out, they succeeded in winning more money than they were originally promised, and they credit this to their ability to organize and petition.

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  • This Oakland Community Hub Was Designed for Restorative Justice

    Partnerships between nonprofits strengthen efforts to promote economic justice. Working together, several nonprofits focused on economic and restorative justice in Oakland have succeeded in opening Restore Oakland, a community and multipurpose center. The new building, which received funding from private donations and from the Akonadi foundation, provides a space nonprofits like the Ella Baker Center and the Restaurant Opportunity Centers United (ROC United).

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  • A Worker Cooperative and a Community Land Trust Bought a Building Together

    Cooperative ownership provides an avenue through which local nonprofit organizations and businesses can retain ownership of real estate. In Oakland, California, the Oakland Community Land Trust uses federal grants and donations to then acquire and retain ownership of commercial and residential properties. In cases where funds offered by the Trust or from crowdfunded donations are not sufficient, as with the Hasta Nuerte worker owned co-op coffee shop, offering up equity in the venture to private investors can help raise capital.

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  • 'Someone To Speak For You': Low-Income Tenants Get Lawyers For Housing Court

    New York City has pioneered one of the nation's first programs to provide free legal services to low-income tenants under threat of eviction. Recent studies have indicated that evictions declined more in cities that had implemented right to counsel, and more cities are looking to follow New York's example as they work to prevent housing instability and homelessness.

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  • When Your Sexual Harasser Has Keys to Your Apartment

    Strategies for combatting sexual harassment in housing across the United States begin with increased awareness and reporting. With incidents of sexual harassment in housing chronically underreported since the passing of the Fair Housing Act in 1974, recent initiatives by nonprofits like CNY Fair Housing and programs by the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development seek to address the issue. These initiatives focus on increasing awareness and education, informing both landlords and tenants of Fair Housing policy.

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