The Time for Rebellion, is NOW!

Well, it turns out that our new landlords intend to do an inspection this coming Thursday. If the apartment is "up to snuff", they intend to increase the rent in a way that would cause many of our tenants to no longer be able to afford to pay rent. If the apartment is not "up to snuff", we will be forced to move out so that "renovations" can take place.

This is after our previous landlords increased the rent. The whole reason why people choose to rent these apartments is because they are simple, quaint and affordable to those who work low paying jobs. We are more than happy to pay what we pay now and that amount is more than enough for the new owners to generate a healthy profit, as well as be able to pay for replacing items that no longer function.

So, what are we to do? Rebel, that is what I intend to do, so long as I can get the cooperation of my mom and our neighbors. In the case they choose to force us out of our homes, we will continue to stay without paying rent of any kind. If they raise the rent in a way that we can no longer afford to stay, we will continue to stay without paying rent until the new owners are willing to keep the rent the same.

This practice is called, "squatting" and it is something you can do when your landlords are treating you in a poor manner. On the worse case scenario, you will have to appear in Court and waste copious amounts of time getting nowhere fast.

I lived in Portland, OR from 2012-2014. We were paying $2000 a month for a house that was falling apart. The foundation needed repairs, as the cracks allowed rainwater to constantly seep into the basement which caused a troubling amount of black mold to grow which was a threat to my health. We brought this to the landlord's attention. However, the outright refused to do anything about it and even proposed raising the rent on the dump. So, my room mates and I sent them an ultimatum. Either fix the basement, or you won't get your rent.

You might think this is a stupid idea and that it would land one in prison. Not true. It took the landlords a couple of months to even put a notice on the door instructing us to leave in 3 days. We did not leave. On the third day, the landlord came to check if we had left or not. We told him that wouldn't leave no matter how many threats he posted.

We received several of these notices. Of course, we ignored every single one until we got a notice to appear in Court. My room mate and I appeared in Court on time. We said some things. The landlord's people said some things. Nothing happened with the exception that we were to appear in Court again in 2 months time.

We continued to stay without paying rent until it was time for my band to tour. To this day, I have not received any negative retroactions for my decisions.

Keep this in mind if it ever happens to you. I want every American to stand their ground against these selfish, greedy, corporate pigs. It is almost as if they are trying to deliberately generate homelessness. They don't even need to, they make enough god damned money as it is....

Stay strong, people. Don't let these corporate dictators deprive you of your God-given rights.

Also, this problem is a symptom of Capitalism. That it is why it is Crucial to implement the Resource Based Economy before it is too late and we are all homeless due to the greed of corporations and bankers.

Shaman-Ra, out!