Dive Brief:

• A tenants association in California ended a five-month rent debt strike against Veritas Investments in late January. The beginning of the Veritas Tenants Association's strike aligned with the end of California's eviction moratorium in October 2021. 
• As reported in The Real Deal, in October, the strikers did not apply for relief from the state's program, but instead sought relief from Veritas. 
• On Dec. 14, Veritas Investments announced the "Rent-relief Backstop" program, under which, "the firm will forgive the uncovered portion of a resident's back-rent who has applied to and qualifies for State relief funds but may later find that such funds become depleted … Veritas and its GreenTree Property Management affiliate will then contribute funding up to the 18-month maximum coverage period offered by the State program." This offer was available to residents who applied to the state relief program by January 31.

Dive Insight:

As the strike ended, Veritas stressed it would help residents apply for government relief programs. "We have been working diligently to collaborate individually with our residents to help those who have been adversely affected by the pandemic economically to remain safely housed," Jeff Jerden, COO of Veritas, said in a statement.

Veritas also stated, "For residents who have a pending or approved application for rental assistance (through the state program), the company will continue to hold off on imposing annual rent increases. In addition, GreenTree [an entity of Veritas] continues to waive late fees for residents who have a pending or approved application for rent relief."

While tenants unions have existed for more than a century, with the strong-arms in California and New York, hundreds of new tenant unions have sprung up since the COVID-19 pandemic started, covering a wider swath of the nation than in years past, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Many rent obligations were put on hold and evictions banned in some areas during the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. However, as the pandemic enters its third year, many of these eviction moratoria have or will soon expire, threatening to put renters out on the streets. 

While federal rent relief programs address some of the need to cover unpaid rent, many states and municipalities have grappled with eviction issues in recent months. For instance, Seattle's eviction moratorium and an Oregon rule preventing evictions for unpaid rent expired on March 1. At the same time, according to a Realtor.com report, median asking rents rose 19.3% year-over-year in December 2021 for properties with at least two bedrooms in the 50 most densely populated cities, eroding affordability.

According to the Journal, tenants unions are not legally recognized in most jurisdictions. However, last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that would require city landlords to meet with tenant organizations up to four times per year. Failure to do so would give residents grounds to file for rent reductions. A few weeks later, the same board unanimously passed an ordinance to protect tenants from eviction for nonpayment of rent after April 1, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no comprehensive tally of the country's tenants unions, according to Melanie Wang, a field organizer for Right to the City Alliance, an association of grassroots housing rights organizations including tenant unions. However, Right to the City Alliance has more than 90 member and affiliate organizations, including groups in Phoenix, Atlanta, San Antonio, and Denver. 

"As a larger alliance, we really believe in and want to prioritize the leadership of tenants groups coming from the South, from the Midwest, from rural areas of their states and from outside the capital of their states," said Wang. "So, even though I think those orgs are relatively fewer in number, they're growing."