The growing homelessness crisis in the United States, compounded by a lack of effective political solutions, has prompted many Americans to take direct action. Rather than relying solely on electoral processes, communities are increasingly organizing to combat the forces that contribute to eviction and homelessness.
The phenomenon commonly termed the “eviction to prison pipeline” illustrates how losing one’s home can ultimately lead to entrapment within the criminal justice system. As a result, many of these grassroots movements focus on empowering individuals to maintain their housing stability, advocating for lower rents, and improving the overall living conditions.
Tenant unionization has emerged as a pivotal strategy in curbing the surging number of individuals experiencing homelessness. This is critical because the existing initiatives aimed at addressing homelessness, ranging from effective housing-first programs to detrimental criminalization, often fall short. A significant challenge is that for every individual who secures housing, two or more may find themselves on the streets.
Let’s delve into several notable grassroots efforts across the nation that are working to disrupt the eviction-to-prison pipeline. Although these initiatives are in their nascent stages, history shows that organized tenant movements can yield substantial results:
In 1920, New York became the first state to implement rent control laws after three years of intensified tenant activism in response to an unprecedented housing crisis.
Recent tenant activism is already yielding positive outcomes.
National Level Organization
In 2024, tenant unions nationwide united to form the Tenant Union Federation (TUF), which aims to:
Organize tenants to gain widespread power, negotiate for tenant protections, disrupt capital flow to housing commodification, establish alternatives to the current market, and advocate for housing as a public good while elevating tenants as an essential political and economic group.
Despite calls for federal tenant protections from tenant organizers, the Biden administration has not delivered, allowing for the potential rollback of tenant safeguards by the Trump-led initiatives, including significant cuts to aid for disabled Americans at risk of homelessness.
In response, tenants are mobilizing to advocate for their rights. Over 1,000 individuals living in properties managed by the Capital Realty Group are actively pursuing a union campaign to secure bargaining rights. The TUF’s drive is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at challenging the authority of large landlords, focusing on an impressive portfolio of nearly 22,000 units.
Capital Realty is one of the largest private equity firms involved in low-income housing and is notorious for its predatory practices. Tenant unions have already emerged in cities like Detroit, Kansas City, Louisville, and New Haven, advocating for essential standards such as regular maintenance, safety protocols, and the right to organize without fear of retaliation.
Here’s what CRE Daily states about the implications of these unionization efforts:
This movement signifies a transformation in tenant organizing, responding to the increasing consolidation of landlord power. Scholars highlight that this cross-portfolio strategy is a direct reaction to the financialization of rental housing. The TUF is moving from localized efforts to a more comprehensive approach aimed at establishing precedents on a national scale.
This current national struggle embodies the larger fight for tenant rights. Locally, ongoing efforts across the country are resulting in significant victories.
Should the TUF successfully organize a substantial number of tenants, they can capitalize on recent successes, such as a notable 248-day rent strike in Kansas City that achieved significant concessions from a slumlord operating with federal backing.
The following highlights some of the tenant unions that have come together under the TUF’s umbrella, showcasing their achievements and ongoing initiatives. While some victories may appear modest, the widespread recognition of tenant organizing is itself a monumental achievement.
KC Tenants
Achievements
The Kansas City Defender reported on the recent successful eight-month rent strike by KC Tenants, which could serve as a model for the TUF:
The final agreement states the landlord must:
- Freeze rent increases. Current tenants can renew leases at the existing rate, with an option for a second year capped at a maximum 5% increase.
- End retaliatory measures. No retaliations will be permitted, including evictions or non-renewals related to organizing efforts.
- Limit late fees to a flat $50 with a grace period of three weeks.
- Ensure affordable rents: After the strike, new lease caps will be Studios $730, one-beds $855, two-beds $965.
- Repair damages promptly, including comprehensive pest control and permanent HVAC repairs by November 2025.
- Restore community amenities such as the parking garage and community room by year-end.
“We refused to pay for our own misery. We won’t pay a dime in back-rent, and we won’t pay with our lives ever again,” said tenant leader Anna Heetmann in a press release following the agreement.
According to KC Tenants, here’s what else they have accomplished recently:
…passed a Tenants Bill of Rights, secured free legal representation for all tenants facing eviction, won a $50 million fund for housing targeting those living at or below 30% of the Area Median Income, banned discrimination based on source of income, redistributed tens of millions from gentrifying developers, halted thousands of evictions through direct action, and achieved building-level improvements as well as rent protections. KC Tenants also successfully lobbied against a regressive $2 billion sales tax intended to fund a downtown stadium. An affiliated organization, KC Tenants Power, elected four members to the City Council in 2023, including one union member.
In a recent action on October 1, over 50 tenants at Bowen Tower, owned by California-based Alta/CGHS Real Estate Investments, initiated a rent strike. Representing 64% of occupied units in the building just outside Kansas City, they are demanding negotiations for building-wide improvements, regular maintenance, and caps on rent hikes.
So far, Alta/CGHS is refusing to engage in negotiations and has imposed late fees on the tenants.
Connecticut Tenant Union (CTU)
In August, a group of senior residents at a New Haven complex formed a union, marking the 19th chapter of the CTU since its inception in 2023. Subsequently, they secured a collectively-bargained lease with a major landlord, achieving lower rent levels and housing upgrades, while also establishing a municipal ordinance recognizing tenants’ rights to organize.
Collaborating with tenant unions in Detroit, CTU is working to pressure Capital Realty Group into negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement, exemplifying the power of cross-state cooperation.
Louisville Tenant Union (LTU)
The LTU is actively expanding into additional Kentucky communities, especially targeting rural areas where tenant protections are often weaker. This summer, they scored a significant victory when a judge ruled in their favor against an out-of-state landlord. According to WDRB:
Judge Julie Kaelin issued a statewide restraining order against OSPM, a New Jersey company managing multiple properties in Kentucky, in a lawsuit involving a Regency Park Apartments tenant who faced retaliation after starting to organize with the LTU. The order protects tenants under Kentucky’s anti-retaliation law from evictions or any service reductions as a result of organizing activities.
While landlords in Kentucky and beyond are often hesitant to recognize tenant unions, Louisville Public Media detailed how the LTU’s growing influence is prompting renters to take a stand against lease violations:
Legal Aid Society attorney Andrew Chandler remarked that the judge’s order highlights how retaliation impacts a broader network. Actions by landlords against unionization efforts in one area can resonate with tenants connected to the same property owner in other locales. Collective organization across properties adds leverage to tenant demands, enhancing the impact of joint strategies like rent strikes.
“If tenants unite against a specific landlord at multiple buildings, their influence increases significantly,” he noted.
These attempts at unionization have been fueled in part by a lack of response from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to tenant grievances. While the LTU enjoys momentum, significant challenges remain due to influential financial interests in Frankfort (the state capital). Recent legislation has made it easier for landlords to discriminate against tenants relying on government assistance, and lawmakers pressured cities to weaken rental safety measures.
In addition to the KC Tenants, Louisville Tenant Union, and Connecticut Tenant Union, the Bozeman Tenants Union and Not Me We in Chicago were among the first chapters to establish the TUF. In Bozeman, the union recently assisted in electing a member to the mayoral office and implemented bans on short-term rentals. Not Me We has been influential in negotiating community agreements concerning the development of the Obama Center.
Despite mixed views on the Obama Center (Templum Obamaeanum), it’s hard to deny its example of late Harkonnen architectural style. pic.twitter.com/MUwibSDpqZ
— Adrian (@blagojevism) October 12, 2025
A tenant strike in Los Angeles compelled the major real estate firm Equity Residential to refund unjust charges. In Cincinnati, senior tenants are organizing against the threat of displacement. Mobile home residents in Idaho have started a renters union too, displaying a growing movement across the country.
The TUF anticipates further expansion, which brings renewed potential for both enhanced organizing power and challenges ahead.
While the unions’ initial successes may appear limited—especially considering the vast, deregulated landscape they navigate—they represent significant achievements for tenants actively seeking to avoid homelessness and improve their living conditions.
Alternative strategies are also emerging; for instance, residents at the Linnhaven Mobile Home Center in Maine banded together to purchase their trailer park, effectively preventing it from falling into private equity hands. Similarly, in Minneapolis, Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (United Renters For Justice) are working on acquiring properties to form the Sky Without Limits cooperative.
The name Sky Without Limits symbolizes the hope these organizing efforts inspire. Although still in their early stages, they demonstrate that tenant movements can be highly effective, free from the constraints typically associated with traditional labor unions. As Greg Baltz, Associate Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School and co-director of the Housing Justice and Tenant Solidarity Clinic, noted:
Tenant unions operate under minimal legal guidance. Unlike labor unions, they do not benefit from a comprehensive legislative framework outlining their rights and responsibilities. The lack of a fixed legal definition for tenant unions highlights the importance of self-organization and activism. Even when strong laws exist on paper, they cannot replace the essential work of grassroots organizing to create a robust movement. Ultimately, tenants must actively advocate for their rights, irrespective of legal formalities.
