Lisa McCormick endorses the National Tenants Bill of Rights

Lisa McCormick, a fair housing advocate in New Jersey, proudly endorses the National Tenants Bill of Rights, a comprehensive proposal developed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Housing Law Project, and Tenant Union Federation.

"This groundbreaking initiative aims to shift the balance of power between tenants and landlords, ensuring greater protection and stability for millions of renters across the country," said McCormick, who asserted that housing is a necessity that should be considered a basic human right.

The National Tenants Bill of Rights was crafted with the direct input of tenant leaders, individuals with lived experiences of housing instability, legal aid experts, and advocates nationwide. When enacted, this legislation will address the power imbalance that disproportionately affects tenants, especially people of color, who are at a greater risk of housing instability, harassment, eviction, and homelessness.

“In today’s oppressive housing economy, tenants face unequal power dynamics that leave them with little agency or protection against rental challenges,” said Lisa McCormick. “The National Tenants Bill of Rights is a vital step towards correcting these injustices and ensuring that housing is treated as the basic human right it should be.”

The National Tenants Bill of Rights includes the following key provisions:

• A fair application process
• A fair lease
• Freedom from discrimination and harassment
• Habitable homes
• Reasonable rent and costs
• Right to organize
• Safeguards against eviction

Housing affordability and supply issues must be paired with robust and enforceable tenant protections to prevent housing instability and homelessness, redress long-standing racial and social inequities, and advance housing justice. The National Tenants Bill of Rights seeks to provide a legislative framework that upholds these essential protections.

In 2021, the overall rental vacancy rate reached 5.6%, its lowest level since 1984, and while there are more unoccupied housing units in America than the number of homeless citizens, economists expect even more people to be living on the streets as income inequality is both crowding out low-income households from the rental market and by causing home prices to rise.

“Housing vouchers and other subsidized housing initiatives have not delivered on their promise to provide a safe and secure home for millions of Americans, especially for low-income households and people of color,” McCormick added. “This exemplifies why further protections are urgently needed, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession.”

Over the last decade, home prices have soared, but these costs are overshadowed by the extraction occurring in the rental market.

More than 55% of Black and Hispanic renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent, compared to 46% of white households. Furthermore, Black and Hispanic renters face higher eviction rates, and people of color make up over half of the 580,466 individuals currently experiencing homelessness.

"America needs to radically reform its troubled economy because coming in on five decades of Reaganomics has devasted our nation, making life more unfair and endangering our future," said McCormick.

The National Tenants Bill of Rights is a crucial step towards building an inclusive and equitable housing system that protects all tenants and ensures that housing is treated as a public good, not merely a commodity.

For more information on the National Tenants Bill of Rights and to support this initiative, please visit the NLIHC website.

An Essex County judge appointed a receiver to take over the management of an East Orange apartment building in December 2023, after members of the 75 Prospect Street Tenant Association demanded justice in two separate lawsuits that documented a history of neglect, including pervasive leaks, mold, and dysfunctional elevators.