Coronavirus Lockdown: Out-Of-Work Tenants Drawn To 'Rent Strike'

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced everyone to stay at home. The government-imposed quarantine has also suspended work, effectively leaving millions of workers without a source of income to pay rent. This has led to a “coronavirus rent strike.”

The rent strike, according to Buzz Feed News, stems from the inability to pay because of a lack of income. From Montreal to NYC, people have been hanging white banners in solidarity with the movement. Even companies such as The Cheesecake Factory and Subway have been saying that they won’t be paying commercial rent in retail locations next month.

The danger of the movement has been summed up by Gregory Afinogenov, an assistant history professor at Georgetown who is also an organizer of the movement Stomp Out Slumlords. He said that the danger is that there are areas that might be protected by law and the federal eviction relief bill signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, but not all areas are covered by it.

It’s hard for the movement not to gain traction because of the sheer number of jobless Americans due to the quarantine. People in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and St. Louis are protected by a temporary ban on evictions, USA Today reported. Those in the movement, however, have been demanding for their rents to be waived, at least during the crisis.

There are politicians who have also supported the idea, if not necessarily the rent strike. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is one such supporter. In New York, Democratic senator Mike Gianaris of Queens introduced a bill meant to forgive mortgage and rent for people and businesses whose income are affected by the COVID-19 quarantine.

The movement has also picked up active members who aren’t waiting around for legislative approval. A group called Rent Strike 2020 has organized and is moving on to the national level. Their call is simple: a freeze for every bill collection for 2 months.

It’s easy to join the movement; with incomes being frozen, people absolutely have nothing to pay rent with. The fact remains that memes telling people not to pay their rent won’t protect them from being evicted.