Let's be realistic. Starting April 1st, tenants all over Austin will not be paying their rents. The COVID-19 crisis has shut down many of the precarious service industry and gig-economy jobs workers in this city rely on, leaving people with no income and little access to social services or benefits. While the courts have put a stay on evictions until May, they have failed to suspend rent payments. If things continue as they are, a catastrophe is coming--one where masses of residents who typically live paycheck-to-paycheck are suddenly staring down massive back payments of rent for months in which they had no income. One way or another, rent won't be paid. The question at hand is whether Austinites will be left to fend from themselves against eviction and dispossession, or whether this non-payment can take the form of a collective refusal that gestures towards a different reality--a Rent Strike.
The Rent Strike Fund is one effort we are starting to support those who are organizing tenants, making demands for rent reductions, or going on a rent strike. This fund will be used for legal expenses related to rent strike efforts we are supporting in the city, whether in housing court or criminal court. We aim to use these funds for those facing retaliation for their organizing, to demonstrate that we are all in this fight together.
We encourage you to donate, especially if you are currently still financially stable, have had rent that you could have paid waived or reduced, or are not threatened by rent or mortgage payments.
