In the summer of 1931, the economic crisis and political destabilization plagued the large cities of Spain, which in a decade saw their population double to accommodate those who went to the capitals in search of a better life. This great flow of migrations brought labor, but also many people who needed a roof over their heads. And there wasn’t something for everyone. So the owners raised prices uncontrollably, while salaries became increasingly precarious.
After months of social unrest and thousands of evictions, the workers of Barcelona said enough was enough and, organized from their factories and supported by the CNT, they organized a rent strike that was supported by more than 90,000 families. The police forces of the Republic forcefully repressed this movement, going so far as to prohibit strike propaganda and sending hundreds of workers to jail. But the tenants did not give up and, after six months, they managed to agree with the small owners for discounts that reached up to 40%.
The situation that occurred in Barcelona 93 years ago has similarities with the current one. And the path could again lead to a rent strike. That is the intention of the Tenants’ Union, which is organizing assemblies and preparatory meetings that will culminate in demonstrations throughout Spain on November 23. “At that time, rents represented 25% of salaries. Today they are up to 40%,” explains Enric Aragonès, spokesperson for the Union in Catalonia.
“It is sad that we have reached the point where today we would settle for what was considered a scandal in 1931,” adds Aragonès, who is betting on the strike as the only viable option given the refusal of governments and owners to stop a situation that, he assures, is at the “limit”. Stopping paying was a solution 93 years ago, so the organizers are well aware of what happened then, partly to maintain hope, but also to be clear about the risks.
Is it legal to go on a rent strike?
Today, as then – at least until it was prohibited by the Franco regime – the strike only applies to the workplace. So there is no law that protects tenants who stop paying rent. Therefore, anyone who joins this initiative may face eviction.
“Once the judicial process has started, the owner, whether small or large, must notify the tenant that they can still pay to avoid eviction. If you continue not doing it, there is no turning back and only the owner can stop it,” explains Miguel Ruiz, lawyer for the PAH of Barcelona.
That is why the entities that support the strike recommend that it be a massive action. “It only makes sense if it is collective and well organized,” says Aragonès. The goal is for there to be so many defaults that the courts collapse and the owners are forced to negotiate. “An eviction procedure can take between 7 months and a year and a half. And there could be more, having the courts collapsed as we have them. If the strike is massive, the times will be extended,” says Ruiz.
The collapse of the judicial system is a tool that has already worked in other cases, such as the Glasgow strike of 1915. In the middle of the World War, the landlords took advantage of the absence of the men who went to the front to raise the rents of the women, but they organized and staged a strike that ended up spreading to other British municipalities.
More than 20,000 households stopped paying rent, despite strong repression. The success of that action came from the union with the workers’ unions, which threatened to hold strikes at the docks and industries if the persecution of the tenants did not stop. That led to hundreds of imprisonments, since British war regulations prevented any attempt to strike.
But what could have seemed like a defeat was key, since the courts were so overwhelmed that the Government opened up to mediate and not only were all legal actions against the strikers withdrawn, but parliament was also able to initiate a bill that It restricted interest to rents and mortgages.
Return to the strike, four years later
The Glasgow example shows how collective action can change laws. But the Tenants’ Union considers that smaller-scale actions are also effective. They highlight the case of the 900 Madrid families who, since June 7, stopped paying insurance bills, community expenses or repairs that, by law, must be borne by the property, but that the Nestar-Azora vulture fund charges to its tenants.
The objective, in their case, is not so much to lower rental prices, but rather to eliminate abusive clauses from their contracts. “The strike is collective, but the objectives can be negotiated by each person so that they adjust to their circumstances,” Aragonès recalls.
The result of the strike of these Madrid families is yet to be resolved, but they also have a precedent of success. In his case it dates back to Toronto in 2017. Neighbors from various buildings in the same neighborhood and the same owner organized against the increase in rents and the lack of repairs in the buildings. More than 300 families stopped paying rent, managing to fix maintenance problems and stop the increase in prices.
“We have many precedents of success,” Aragonès summarizes. But, at the same time, he recognizes that this action “is against very powerful people.” He does not deny that there are risks and assures that the strike will only be called if there is “sufficient force so that no one is in danger.” It ensures that a resistance fund will be set up to cover the legal costs of tenants who may need it and that the Tenant Unions will be available to assist anyone who requires it.
This was already done in the strike that took place in 2020 when, in the midst of the pandemic, more than 16,000 people organized to stop paying rent at a time when thousands of workers had lost their jobs. A resistance fund was organized strong enough to cover the expenses of all the strikers who requested it. “That allowed us to resist,” Aragonès recalls. The action managed to reduce hundreds of rents.
“It has to be massive enough to hurt them and so they don’t hurt us. If there are many of us, there will not be enough judges or police officers,” the Tenants Union insists. Aragonès recalls that strikes have not always been a recognized right for workers. “Rights are won by demanding them,” he points out.
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