Forging a global union against rentier exploitation: A commentary on tenant internationalism

Abstract

In the face of the hyper-commodification and assetisation of housing and the growing dominance of corporate landlords, a new generation of tenants’ unions is emerging. These unions arise in an adverse context: they lack support from strong labour movements, are growing amidst the decline of progressive social mobilisations and exist predominantly in societies defined by high homeownership rates. Paradoxically, this adverse context makes tenants’ unions more necessary than ever, as they provide a critical counterbalance to the concentration of power in rentier hands. Their precarious situation underscores the urgent need for an international coalition to support radical tenants’ unions in their shared aim of gaining the tactical capacity to resist rentier capital’s attacks. Sharing diagnoses and organisational resources to expand their base, develop member defence strategies and deploy direct-action tactics is essential to protect tenants from exploitation in the context of an increasingly powerful transnational rentier class and its extractive capacity. New-generation tenants’ unions can act as catalysts for a new wave of class solidarity around the universal right to stable and dignified housing, with the potential to reframe housing as a central axis of transformative politics.