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So rent has been skyrocketing guys and there's a housing crisis all
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over the country to help us know our rights as tenants.
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We have Pamela Agustin director of East Side leads here with us
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Hi, Jenny. Thank you for inviting me.
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Thank you for coming.
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Thank you. Thank you.
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So we know rent has gone up 30% in the last
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five years. Is it a good time to be renting
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Jenny, the reality is that renting is how majority of Californians
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are housed today, especially here in L A county.
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You know, the majority of renters,
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we make up 60% of the renter population.
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Yeah, and the issue is we have an affordable housing crisis
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right? Where there's a lot of competition for,
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for units, but also,
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you know, low income tenants.
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The what really like brings the culture,
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especially here in the East Side,
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they're at risk of being displaced.
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Yeah. Yeah, there's it's,
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it's tough times right now,
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tough times, everything is so expensive.
01:09
So what kind of power do tenants really have?
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I think tenants united are stronger,
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right? So what we in my organization is I leads,
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we're a coalition of eight organizations we believe in no displacement.
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We live to that vision by organizing with tenants,
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we educate them about their rights,
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specially during the pandemic,
01:30
tenant rights were changing.
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So it's important that tenants first of all know their rights know
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that nobody can evict them except a sheriff.
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And you know that United talking amongst neighbors forming tenant associations is
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how they can really win the goods and the goods is staying
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in their long time neighborhoods.
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And do you think things can get better?
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Because I'm like right now,
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I'm like, oh my God is like,
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you know how they say,
01:58
like the house prices are gonna go high and renting is only
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gonna go higher. And I just wonder like are is there
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light at the end of the tunnel?
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Because right now I'm like,
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you know, that's very real and that's what we hear
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every day. with these side leads,
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right? We take calls with tenants,
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we meet, meet with tenants weekly and I think there is
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a light at the end of the tunnel.
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If tenants organize, if we talk to our neighbors,
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if we come together,
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first of all, if tenants get an eviction notice,
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right? Or a new property owner,
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people should know that just because your property changed owners,
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they don't have to move.
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The only way that a tenant can be evicted is if a
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formal eviction has been filed in the L A county courts and
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then that you've lost that case and then only the sheriff can
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kick you out. So the light at the end of the
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tunnel for me is we are united.
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We are fighting back tenants if they hear right.
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Especially you, Jenny,
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you hear your friends,
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I'm facing some challenges with my landlord or they're really harassing me
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or I'm feeling threatened,
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connect them to not just the salit but an autonomous Tenants Union
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in the area. That's another way that I see a light
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at the end of the tunnel.
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That's good Unidos. And there you go.
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And, and what do you think about rent control?
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Isa elites? We've been pushing for a tenant bill of rights
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throughout the pandemic. That's nine things that if those nine things
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were in place in all 88 cities in the county,
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people could really remain in their communities.
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And rent control is top during the pandemic.
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We actually saw a big surge of organizing communities like Pasadena
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Pomona and we're, we're winning rent control and who were the
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people that were leading those fights,
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majority mujeres, immigrants,
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low income tenants. So organizing really gets the goods.
03:56
Definitely, definitely. Where can we follow you at East
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So everybody can follow us at E side leads in Instagram
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Yeah. And obviously also our website is I leads.org and always
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you know, we have actions,
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people can get connected to the movement in different ways.
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actions are fun. So we'll see you in the streets.
04:24
So are there any national organizations you recommend?
04:28
Definitely right to the city alliance.
04:32
So right to the city is a move a national movement that
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brings together organizations from throughout,
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you know, the United States.
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And it's the vision is exactly what it means right to the
04:45
city that tenants have a right to remain in their city,
04:48
that immigrants have a right to remain in their city.
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And they've been, you know,
04:53
having convenings, they recently had one in New Orleans.
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And yeah, the housing justice movement,
04:59
the tenant rights movement came together and,
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you know, got to learn from each other's fights because honestly
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Jenny fights are local,
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but then we learn from each other,
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we learn best practices,
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we learn what worked and then we try to apply that,
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you know, those ingredients to our unique realities.
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Yeah, you're sure what does it say?
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It says housing is a human right.
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Tenants strike balance. That's right.
05:24
That's right. It's love that.
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