In 2003, Power U Center for Social Change began organizing renters in our base community of Overtown just north-west of Downtown Miami, FL. As a historically neglected community, the housing boom brought massive disinvestment in current homes and proposals for gentrifying developments. Through campaign victories and the rapid displacement of our base, Power U realized that the marginalized majority of the entire city are renters.
The Power U Renter Majority Project looks to harness the power of over 200,000 very diverse people living in rental housing in Miami. For a renter movement in Miami to be effective it must be lead by low-income renters who are most vulnerable to human rights violations and disenfranchisement. The Renter Majority Project centers and will be anchored around the development of low income, very low income, and no income leaders.
In 2009-2010, Power U conducted the first-ever survey of renters acrossthe city of Miami. Power U Organizers, members, and allies, fannedout across the city and knocked on the doors of thousands of rentalunits. 1102 people from all zip codes in the City of Miami completedthe survey. The results were then presented to the mayor, whoadmitted that conditions were unacceptable. We say that the results are outrageous and expose the egregious exploitation of tenants bylandlords, be they private individuals, companies, or banks. Whilerenters of all races and income levels are feeling the impact, it will come as no surprise that those suffering the most are low-incomeresidents of color.
With 39% of respondents having only a verbal month to month lease, andanother 25% on a written lease month to month, two-thirds of rentersare vulnerable to evictions with no notice. Two-thirds of thosesurveyed had someone in the household who was unemployed, leavingthem vulnerable not to make rent (Miami currently has an unemploymentrate of over 11%.) According to our survey, less than 15% of respondents lived in affordable housing, while 57% spent 50% or moreof their income on rent; this went as high as 220% for the lowestincome category ($0-$500/month). Housing conditions were also below standard in a high percentage of cases, with the highestconcentration of substandard conditions found in Overtown, our base. 37% of households suffer from mold and mildew, 45% have rats, and 25%have water leakage or structural problems- a serious safety hazard inhurricane prone Miami.
Power U is teaming up with Florida Legal Services to implement a Renters Know Your Rights program. We will be targeting low-income communities with high foreclosure ratesof multi-family buildings to help address the silent crisis among renters- illegal evictions from properties being foreclosed upon. The new federal laws provide protections for renters that tenants in Florida have never had, and many are still not aware of. We are running a series of workshops for these tenants to provide them with critical information about their rights and the resources that are available to them.
We are also working with these renters to begin building a city-wide movement of renters. This base will fight for better and long-term legal protections for tenants in Florida, which has some of the weakest renter rights in the country. Our ultimate goal is a Renters Bill of Rights for all renters in the state of Florida.
Are you a renter in Miami? Do you suffer from horrible living conditions? Facing eviction? Come join the Renter Majority Project! Contact Patrina Williams at Power U for more information.