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Let tenants decide what work needs to be done: Difference between revisions
Let tenants decide what work needs to be done (view source)
Revision as of 19:00, 27 December 2024
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[[File:Hallway renovation - replacing carpet with tiles.png|thumb|Tenants didn't ask for this renovation - and who knows how much it costs? It's being done on every floor of the building. Tenants are having to pay for it through '''increased rents.''' Meanwhile, more important work might be neglected.]] | [[File:Hallway renovation - replacing carpet with tiles.png|thumb|Tenants didn't ask for this renovation - and who knows how much it costs? It's being done on every floor of the building. Tenants are having to pay for it through '''increased rents.''' Meanwhile, more important work might be neglected.]] | ||
===Unnecessary renovations=== | ===Unnecessary renovations=== | ||
Replacing things that '''aren't''' broken. | |||
* Ripping out carpets and floors just because they're "old" and the landlord wants a new aesthetic | |||
* Replacing kitchen interiors just because they have some stains | |||
* Getting rid of furnishings that were perfectly usable | |||
<tabs><tab name="A wasteful vicious cycle"> | |||
Tenants move in. They use the kitchen. The kitchen gets dirty and stained from normal use. A few years later, the tenants move out. The landlord sees the stains and thinks "ewwwww! I'll never be able to find high-paying tenants with a kitchen that looks like ''that''!". So the landlord spends money to replace the kitchen interior. The landlord might even bill the old tenants for the "damages" (or otherwise, raise the rent for the next tenant). Then the next tenant moves in, and the cycle continues. | |||
Meanwhile, there are plenty of potential tenants who would have been perfectly fine with the old kitchen interior. Cooking is way easier when you don't have to constantly worry about staining brand new stuff anyway. | |||
''P.S. More than just the kitchen, this same story happens for stains & scratches on the floors, bathtub, etc.'' | |||
</tab> | |||
<tab name="Why landlords do this"> | |||
Landlords may be motivated to do these things as an "investment" in hopes to attract a richer crowd of tenants - meanwhile, existing tenants are made to pay for it. This happens especially in "high demand" locations or when a city just doesn't have enough housing overall. If we [[create new walkable neighborhoods]], it might take the pressure off a bit. | |||
</tab> | |||
<tab name="Caveats"> | |||
Of course there might be some buildings with richer tenants who ''want'' these renovations. But most of us just want an affordable place to live. That's why the tenants should help decide what work needs to be done. | |||
</tab></tabs> | |||
===Neglected work=== | ===Neglected work=== | ||
* Fixing things that '''are''' broken. | |||
==''Solution:'' '''Democratize''' the decision-making process== | ==''Solution:'' '''Democratize''' the decision-making process== | ||
''This section is still being planned. Join the {{tp2}}'' | |||
===The idea=== | ===The idea=== | ||
For larger buildings / cases where the landlord owns multiple units: | For larger buildings / cases where the landlord owns multiple units: | ||
* Tenants meet and discuss: | * Tenants meet and discuss: {{talk|The "meetings" don't necessarily have to be formal. Just good old gathering to talk}} | ||
** What work the building needs (essential maintenance) | ** What work the building needs (essential maintenance) | ||
** What work the building ''doesn't'' need | ** What work the building ''doesn't'' need | ||
** How much money any of those things would realistically cost - per month, if split between all the tenants | ** How much money any of those things would realistically cost - per month, if split between all the tenants | ||
* Tenants pick apart the landlord's existing budget, see what could be cut. | * Tenants pick apart the landlord's existing budget, see what could be added or cut. | ||
* Tenants vote and/or reach some consensus | * Tenants vote and/or reach some consensus | ||
===How it could be implemented=== | ===How it could be implemented=== | ||
* Policy: | * Policy: | ||
** Large landlords should be forced to reveal their budgets to the public, for tenants to see. | ** Large landlords should be forced to reveal their budgets to the public, for tenants to see. | ||
** Tenants deserve the legal right to hold a meeting in some part of the building, without the landlord saying "you're not allowed to be here | *** <small>Tenants should be able to see, ahead of time, what work the landlord is planning to do.</small> | ||
** When tenant unions reach a well-formed consensus, it should be legally binding for landlords to follow | ** Tenants deserve the legal right to hold a meeting in some common part of the building, without the landlord saying "you're not allowed to be here". | ||
** When tenant unions reach a well-formed consensus, it should be legally binding for landlords to follow {{talk|Of course this would require some sort of feasibility check, to filter out impossible demands. But such a filter has to be done fairly, so that it doesn't shut down good ideas from tenants. Need more discussion on how this could work - what should the rules of feasibility look like?}} | |||
* [[Tenant unions]] / collective bargaining | * [[Tenant unions]] / collective bargaining | ||
* Ideas can be reused, so that people don't have to reinvent the wheel for every case | * Ideas can be reused, so that people don't have to reinvent the wheel for every case | ||
* This wiki could maybe serve as a discussion platform even for individual buildings? | * This wiki could maybe serve as a discussion platform even for individual buildings? | ||
==Discussions still needed for this page== | |||
{{pn-block| | |||
==Discussions== | * What about smaller-scale landlords? How should it work in that case? | ||
* | * How to make sure that tenant meetings don't become too long, tedious, bureaucratic and unnecessarily labor-intensive? | ||
* | * How can I get the ball rolling, to meet with other tenants in my building? | ||
* | }} | ||
==Next steps / actions to take{{fists}}== | ==Next steps / actions to take{{fists}}== | ||
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* [[Lower the cost of housing]] | * [[Lower the cost of housing]] | ||
* [[No expensive cosmetic renovations]] | * [[No expensive cosmetic renovations]] | ||
* [[Stop renovictions]] | |||
* [[Diverse standards for residential buildings]] | |||