Houston Chronicle writes about the rent strike by the tenants at Villas del Paseo.
Houston renters are increasingly reaching similar conclusions. In situations where they have little recourse under the law, they are banding together to exert pressure through other means, such as rent strikes and bad publicity. Coaching them behind the scenes is the Houston Tenants Union, a relatively new organization that acts as a consultant of sorts, explaining how the law works, which strategies might be used and how frustrated renters can connect with one another. In Villas del Paseo, it was the Houston Tenants Union that recommended renters knock on their neighbors’ doors to get others, like Aguilar, involved. And it was the tenants group that explained the stakes when renters brought up the possibility of withholding rent.