Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the “Tenants’ Right to Organize Act” (S.5087) in the U.S. Senate on September 18. The bill would protect the organizing rights of tenants with Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) and tenants living in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties. Currently, only public housing tenants have a legally recognized right to organize. In extending the right to organize to HCV-holding and LIHTC tenants, the bill recognizes that all tenants have the right to decent, safe, stable, and sanitary housing. NLIHC is proud to join other tenant-led organizations in endorsing the bill, which was co-sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Representative Delia Ramirez (D-IL) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representative in October 2023 (see Memo, 10/10/2023).
If enacted, the Tenants’ Right to Organize Act would establish organizing protections for tenants with Housing Choice Vouchers and tenants living in LIHTC properties and provide funding for such organizing activities, ensuring that all tenants benefitting from federally subsidized housing assistance are empowered in their right to organize.
“Strong renter protections – like the right to organize – are critical to addressing the power imbalance between landlords and renters, ensuring racial equity, and ending the housing and homelessness crisis,” said Diane Yentel, NLIHC’s president and CEO in a press release. “For decades, tenants have organized for improved living conditions, safety from unjust evictions, and for fair rent. However, not all renters have the right to organize. I applaud Senator Fetterman for introducing the Tenants’ Right to Organize Act to ensure all renters in federally assisted homes have the right to make their voices heard through collective action, without fear of retaliation.”
NLIHC supports the bill and will continue to work with champions of tenant protections in Congress to push for stronger tenant protections.
Read Senator Fetterman’s press release here.
Read the bill text and see a list of cosponsors here.