Tenants across the country plan to withhold their rent from landlords beginning on Friday, as both federal and state leaders continue to resist calls to provide direct relief to millions of struggling renters.
The protest, coinciding with May Day, is believed to be the largest coordinated rent strike in nearly a century. In New York, where more than half of tenants are considered rent burdened, some 12,000 residents have signed a pledge not to pay this month — a number that likely understates the massive wave of coming rent strikes.
"People can't pay," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said this week. "You cannot coerce someone into doing something that they cannot do."
According to a recent survey by the real estate group PropertyNest, nearly 44 percent of New York City residents say they will not have the money to pay rent on time this month. A total of 1.6 million New York residents have reported losing their jobs since the start of the pandemic, with many still unable to access the state’s overwhelmed unemployment system.
A "Cancel Rent" banner unfurled from the Queensboro Bridge on May 1st
On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo once again shrugged off calls to provide renters with direct assistance, saying that other states offering such concessions were not facing New York’s massive budget deficit. He pointed to an executive order that blocks evictions through June 20th, adding, “when we get to the end of that period then we’ll have to figure out what to do.”
Some struggling tenants have come up against the limits of that temporary stopgap. In the East Village, a group of tenants wrote a letter to their landlord, NAL Management, asking to “open a dialogue” on possible concessions for hard-up renters.
“If tenants do not pay rent we do have the right to sue and ruin tenants credit for non payment once the eviction/sue moratorium is lifted,” a representative of the landlord wrote back this week in an email viewed by Gothamist. The reply concluded by noting the owner would speak with individual tenants, but would “not respond to any future communication with” the group. (Inquiries to NAL Management were not immediately returned.)
Elsewhere in the city, New Yorkers allege that their landlords have used the crisis to try to hike rents or push out rent-stabilized tenants. In Brooklyn, residents of a building owned by landlord Isaac Schwartz — who boasts a real estate portfolio worth $87 million — say their attempts to discuss rent solutions have been repeatedly shot down. On Friday, they hung a banner from the building demanding Cuomo cancel rent.
As tensions between some tenants and building owners reach a fever pitch, landlord groups say that calls for a rent strike are misguided. “People organizing this rent strike have time to be on Zoom and Twitter all day long,” said Jay Martin, the executive director of Community Housing Improvement Program, which represents landlords. “It’s easy to spin a hashtag, but there needs to be a holistic approach.”
Both tenants and elected officials acknowledge that cancelling rent for financially impacted tenants will likely also entail relief for property owners. According to Queens State Senator Mike Gianaris, the cleanest approach would be through a federal stimulus bill. Neither Trump nor leading congressional Democrats, including Senator Chuck Schumer, have signaled they plan to push for such relief in the next legislative package.
On the state level, Gianaris has introduced legislation that would suspend both rent and mortgage payments for some tenants and property owners. He stressed that Cuomo could achieve the same outcome through an executive order.
“The government has told people you get no income, but has done nothing to deal with their financial obligations that continue to accrue,” Gianaris told Gothamist on Thursday. “Not only is that unfair, it’s stupid policy that is setting us up for a more difficult to recovery.”
Those interested in organizing their buildings should consult the Legal Aid Society (212-577-3300), Legal Services NYC (917-661-4500) or the Met Council on Housing (646-542-1920). Additionally, the Met Council on Housing encourages prospective strikers to text “Rent Strike” to 33339 (use “Huelga de Renta” for Spanish). Nothing in the above article should be construed as legal advice.
