The simple answer is that there is typically a power imbalance between a landlord and a tenant which leaves tenants exposed to exploitation. This is because the landlord owns the living space that the tenant occupies, and can under certain circumstances reclaim that living space at their discretion.
Although some protections exists for tenants (see the page entitled “Rent Stabilization“), generally speaking there is nothing stopping a landlord from refusing to renew a lease to tenant if they believe they could make more money by charging more rent to a new tenant with a higher income.
When landlords are free to rent their apartments to the highest bidder and there is a scarcity of apartments in a city like New York, neighborhoods undergo what is known as “gentrification”. This is where newly-arrived high-income tenants displace low and middle-income tenants by outbidding them in the housing market.
Gentrification leads to a breakdown of community and social cohesion because residential neighborhoods become increasingly ordered by income, rather than by social or familial affiliation, language, religious or cultural background, or workplace proximity. This exacerbates urban segregation because income and assets tend to cluster in desirable neighborhoods that have tenants with the resources to demand better amenities (parks, libraries, etc), while low and middle income tenants are forced out by landlords seeking to capitalize on the willingness of high income tenants to pay higher rents.
Under these conditions, the sole unifying theme of a gentrified neighborhoods is that it is home to wealthy individuals. On the other hand, when legal and economic space is carved out for low and middle income tenants, neighborhoods can preserve historic character (particular national or religious affiliations) as well as make space for individuals who contribute to society in ways that are not highly compensated. This includes those in care and education sectors, but also those involved in creative work where compensation in the early career stage is typically quite low.
Tenants associations are therefore needed to push back against the logic of landlordism, the sole aim of which is to extract the highest rents possible from whichever tenants are willing to pay. Individual tenants who are at risk of being priced out of a neighborhood can join together to resists gentrification by asserting their rights in relation to rent stabilization law, and to the duty of landlords to provide habitable housing that is in good repair to all tenants, regardless of their rental status.
Tenants associations redress the imbalance of power that, if unchecked, would render tenants vulnerable to market forces of the real estate industry, which tends to favor the extant owners of such property.
