How to Join a Tenant Association

Joining an Existing Tenant Association

Ask your landlord. Although it sounds counter-intuitive, your landlord or an employee at the management office should be able to tell you if there is a tenant association in the complex or building. Landlords aren't necessarily happy for their tenants to form an association, but they aren't legally allowed to interfere with the association's operations. Some management companies even have representatives attend the association meetings to address problems that might come up.

Look for flyers. The tenant association may post advertisements for the next gathering on a community bulletin board or in common areas. In some cities and states tenant associations have the explicit right to post notices about meetings and issues of interest to the tenants, as well as distribute flyers directly door-to-door.

Attend a meeting. Tenant association meetings typically are open – all you have to do is show up. Even if you ultimately decide not to take an active part in your tenant association, it can be a good way to meet your neighbors and discuss common issues. Pay attention to how the meeting is organized and how the residents interact with one another. Listen to the issues raised in the meeting and consider whether these are problems you've encountered yourself, or whether you have any additional problems you'd like addressed.

Talk to the officers. At the end of the meeting, approach the people in charge of the association and ask them what the process is to join. If the association is relatively unorganized, there may be nothing more formal necessary to join than simply showing up at meetings. However, some associations may have a more formal structure that requires you to fill out a written form and provide contact information, or even pay dues to join the association.

Decide how you want to get involved. If you have particular skills or interests that would be of use to the association, you might want to volunteer to help. For example, if you have legal experience, you may want to volunteer to make a short presentation on landlord-tenant law and tenants' rights in your state. If you speak Spanish and your complex has a large Spanish-speaking population, you might volunteer to translate association flyers and literature into Spanish, or provide a written summary of meetings in Spanish, so those who have trouble understanding English can participate as well. Don't underestimate the value of any connections you have in the community as well. You could be a tremendous asset to the association if you have close friends or associates who are lawyers, or who work in city or county government.

Forming a Tenant Association

Talk to your neighbors. If you're interested in forming a tenant association, find out if you can get at least a small group of fellow residents on board for an initial meeting. Typically if you're thinking about forming a tenant association, it's because you are having problems with the landlord or management and believe you are not alone. If you and the other residents banded together, you might find power in numbers. You could be more effective at getting the problems solved and making your community a better place to live. Don't be afraid to go door-to-door and get your fellow residents talking about any problems they've had with the landlord. Gauge their interest in joining or helping form a tenant association with you.

Hold an initial meeting. You are allowed to hold a tenant's association meeting anywhere in your complex or building that is designated as a common area. Contact the most enthusiastic or interested neighbors you encountered and find out when the best times would be for them to have a meeting. Try to schedule your initial meeting when the most people can show up. Paying attention to the traffic in and out of your building or complex can also give you a good idea of when most people are at home and potentially would be available to come to a meeting.

Set ground rules. If you want to accomplish anything as a group, you must establish at least enough rules to ensure the meeting is organized and follows a basic schedule. Start your first meeting by introducing yourself and any other residents who are forming the association with you. Then list the general issues you will be discussing during the meeting. Consider bringing along an egg timer or similar device to measure and limit the amount of time each person has to speak. This allows you to ensure the meeting ends at a reasonable hour but gives people who want to contribute a chance to speak their minds.

Choose your association's structure. You may prefer to designate particular individuals to be in charge of the association and keep order at meetings. What kind of structure you choose is up to you and your fellow residents. You may not want any formal structure at all, apart from a few officers. In a large building or a complex with many buildings, you may want to have captains in charge of each individual building or floor, so groups of residents have one person to speak for their particular interests. You might choose a looser structure with only a president and vice-president, or elect a group of 5-10 people as a steering committee to rotate responsibilities at each meeting. Some tenant associations are organized as direct democracies, with all members voting on every action undertaken by the association. This might be a good fit for smaller associations but could seriously bog down larger groups.

Elect officers. If you've decided to use a formal organizational model, you'll need to take a vote among resident members of the association to choose who will be in charge and for how long. At least, at first, those of you who had the idea to form the association will more than likely be chosen as officers. But if there is a resident who has experience running a business or association, or someone with legal experience, you may want to talk them into taking a leading role. There typically is no need for a tenant association to collect money or have a bank account, but if you want to require the payment of dues to pay for community events or other expenses, such as refreshments at meetings, you can open a joint bank account in the names of several officers. Keep in mind that if you decide to go on a rent strike or otherwise withhold rent as a group, an association account may come in handy. Association members can use it to deposit the money they would normally pay for rent.

Making the Most of Your Tenant Association

Maximize the tenant association's benefits. A tenant association is designed to give tenants more leverage when negotiating with landlords, ensuring you get the best possible home in exchange for your rent. As tenants, you have the right to a safe and habitable home. Other rights may vary depending on the state where you live, but at a minimum your landlord must make any major repairs that deal with water and plumbing systems or the structural integrity of the building. Generally, the tenant association has more power than an individual tenant because of the amount of the combined rents. A landlord can more easily ignore a single tenant complaining about something such as a leaky faucet than a group that represents a majority of tenants. Consider the situation from the landlord's perspective: He may shrug his shoulders about a single tenant's complaint, figuring he can deal with losing just one unit's rent. However, a group of tenants threatening to withhold rent that represents half or more of his monthly income is a different matter altogether. Tenant associations also enable you to create a tighter sense of community with your neighbors. Social events sponsored by the tenant association can help build relationships. You might also consider creating an online forum or social media page so tenants can offer services, such as babysitting or dog-walking, and help each other.

Give people time to vent. Depending on the condition of your building or complex and how negligent your landlord has been, you may have some angry residents in attendance. Be sure to allow everyone a chance to talk. Allowing people to let off steam may be essential to maintaining a general sense of order. Allow anyone to speak who wants to do so, but don't pressure anyone to come forward. You may want someone to take notes so you can get a feel for the general concerns that are presented. Making a list of categories such as "maintenance concerns" and "rent increases" and making a tally mark under the category each time it's mentioned can help you prioritize later on.

Prioritize problems. After getting a feel for the residents' concerns, you should all come together to decide which problems should be addressed first. Put problems that affect the most residents at the top of your list, followed by problems that fewer people have to deal with but that have a severe impact on their quality of life. You also should consider dealing with a few smaller problems that seem easier to handle – and easier to get landlord agreement on – first. If the tenant association is able to chalk up some early victories, no matter how small, it will strengthen the association's unity and encourage other residents to join.

Form committees. Depending on the size of your association, you may want to designate specific groups of people to consistently keep on top of issues in a particular area. Try to choose residents to lead committees who have experience in the issues likely to come up in that category. They typically will have the familiarity necessary to prioritize individual complaints. For example, if you have a committee in charge of maintenance requests, you may want people leading that committee who have experience in maintenance or construction. Especially in the early stages of forming your association, don't neglect recruiting and welcoming new members. You also may want to form a social committee to arrange community events such as cook-outs or pot-luck dinners to build connections between residents.

Follow through on demands. Coming together as a group may give you a more powerful voice as tenants, but if your landlord still won't cooperate you have to be willing to take action. In many states, you have the right to withhold rent if there are significant health or safety issues that affect all or most tenants. You also may want to call your state or local building inspectors to come out and look at the property. If your landlord is ignoring the tenant association's demands and you are considering taking action, make sure you check your state law and follow the correct procedures. Typically you can find this information out by talking to someone who works at your state or local housing agency, but you might also want to consult an experienced landlord-tenant law attorney.