Why did we form TUL?

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Because we believe in people over profits.

It’s no secret that tenants around the country are grappling with skyrocketing rents, deteriorating buildings, and the constant threat of homelessness. But while we struggle to keep the wolf at the door, developers, investors, and owners are seeing record-breaking profits year after year. This is not a coincidence. Where we see a home, they see only dollar signs. So long as housing is driven by profit, the lives of renters will be cheap. We formed TUL to take back control of our housing.

Because no one else can do it for us.

We will not wait around for politicians or nonprofits to swoop in and solve our problems for us. While they claim to protect renters’ rights, their actions prove where they really stand. Officials line the pockets of investors with subsidies and tax breaks in exchange for kickbacks. Their police enforce evictions on behalf of landlords. The city inspects less than 1% of all rental units and doesn’t prosecute landlords when they find them violating the law. We as tenants must solve our own problems. That’s why we are an independent organization. Tenants call the shots – not donors, corrupt bureaucrats, or nonprofits with vested interests.

Because we are more powerful together.

Facing housing problems as individual tenants can feel hopeless. Alone, we can be forced to accept a landlord’s decisions just to keep a roof over our heads. But when we unite with our neighbors, we become a formidable force. More than half of Lawrence’s residents are renters. Simply put, there are more of us than there are of them! We believe that collective action offers our only shot at improving our conditions.

Because we must get organized!

Tenants must organize into permanent unions capable of standing up whenever our housing is threatened. We must unite with our neighbors so we never face these threats alone. We must use direct action to bring the fight to the landlords. We must refuse to be brokers, negotiating for a better deal, but fighters in a struggle between people and profit until we finally win.