I was super excited about this book since I kept seeing recommendations for it on Twitter and Tiktok. Abolish Rent by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis is a bold and thought-provoking manifesto that challenges the foundations of the current housing system. The authors provide a compelling analysis of how the rent-based housing model fuels inequality and displacement, while presenting a radical vision for tenant-led change. Grounded in historical context and activism, the book argues for the abolition of rent and offers practical strategies for organizing, resisting eviction, and reclaiming housing as a human right. I loved it, thank you Haymarket Books, NetGalley and Tracy Rosenthal for this ARC!

I have lived in my current apartment for over a decade and despite annual rent increases, I'm still faced with surprise 16% increases every other year or so to "adjust to market" rent. It's hard to feel like there's any escape especially consider so few new complexes are built with the average person in mind, focusing on luxury complexes with amenities no one needs. Abolish Rent maybe me feel even more frustrated but also hopeful about the action that could be taken to change the trajectory of the current housing crisis.

Using real world examples, not just ideas about how the world could or should work, Abolish Rent traces the roots of the housing crisis and presents solutions that could being our path to fixing it. Written clearly and in an engaging prose, this book should be required reading.

This should be required reading for every high school and college student as well as everyone who works in mainstream/legacy media. ABOLISH RENT tackles a massive issue in this country and the authors use history as well as current policies to show how we got into this housing crisis. I especially appreciate their honest in sharing the work they have done in LA; it offers ideas for how this work can be done in other places and (hopefully, someday) nationwide.

An enthusiastic and persuasive manifesto on housing rights as human rights. It’s encouraging to see such robust organizing among tenants across the country, and the practical template for how to expand it. The authors rightly quote Ursula Le Guin: our housing system is a human power—produced by people, not God or nature. And any human power, she wrote, can be changed by human beings.

These two renter advocates possess zero understanding of basic economics, but if you are interested in learning the history and inner workings of the tenant's movement (mostly in LA) this book would be a good choice.

Everyone should read this book! Looking at this history of real estate policies in this country and how the corporate class lords power over the working class is key to understanding why huge conglomerates are taking over every aspect of our lives. As someone who had had their landlord DOUBLE their rent over the last two years, I can tell you that this is a MUST READ!

This is a critical body of work that all renters and those concerned with the explotation of renters must read. The authors have done extensive research and the presentation of facts, examples and materials is excellent in its format and understanding. I highly recommend this book. The authors are co founders of the Tenants Union in the Los Angeles area.

The authors give concise examples of the current day rental housing in Los Angeles and how greed of realtors and landlords exploits renters throughout the country. They cite the progress the union has made in Los Angeles. It is a well documented work that proves how rental housing ,landlords and realtors have driven to eviction millions by their greed of raising up prices making housing impossible for all lower income renters. The authors have done extensive work on the subject of disabled , low income and minority people suffering through rents raised beyond reason. The stories here of resistance will inspire all renters and give us hope for long term change.

I highly recommend this book for all renters and recommend those utilize this book who are building a tenants union and or have legal cases against realtors , property managers and landlords.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! Abolish Rent is out in the US on September 24th, 2024 from Haymarket Books.

Full Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

Abolish Rent is an uncompromising manifesto by Leonardo Vilchis and Tracy Rosenthal that dismantles the capitalist housing system and envisions a radical future where housing is a human right, accessible to all. Grounded in both the historical and contemporary context of Los Angeles, the book exposes how the housing crisis is not an aberration but an inherent feature of capitalism, designed to exploit and disempower tenants. Vilchis and Rosenthal’s writing is forceful, delivering a bold and urgent call to action, centering the collective power of tenants as the solution to end housing injustice.

At its core, the book’s central argument is that rent is a tool of exploitation, perpetuating inequality and concentrating wealth among landlords. Vilchis and Rosenthal expertly deconstruct the logic of rent, revealing its oppressive function as a “power relation” that traps tenants in cycles of poverty. They challenge the myth that housing is a mere commodity, instead positioning it as a fundamental human need that should not be subject to profit-driven markets. This critique extends to the role of the state, which the authors argue works hand-in-hand with landlords to police and maintain the system of rent, particularly through the violent eviction of tenants.

Race, class, and housing are deeply interconnected throughout the book, with the authors emphasizing that the housing system’s racial inequalities—disproportionately affecting Black, Brown, and working-class communities—are not incidental but intentional. From the annexing of Mexican land to the state-backed gentrification of neighborhoods, Vilchis and Rosenthal expose how housing has been weaponized to reinforce social hierarchies and uphold white supremacy. By weaving together histories of public housing, suburbanization, and state violence, the authors underscore that the fight for housing justice is inseparable from the broader struggle against systemic racism and capitalist oppression.

What sets Abolish Rent apart is its insistence on tenant solidarity and collective action as the path forward. Vilchis and Rosenthal don’t just offer critique—they provide real-world examples of tenant organizing, from rent strikes to eviction defenses, highlighting the successes of the LA Tenants Union and other grassroots movements. Through these stories of resistance, the book paints a vivid picture of how tenants, including unhoused people, can reclaim power and reshape their communities.

In sum, Abolish Rent is a vital text for anyone interested in dismantling the oppressive systems that govern housing and imagining a world rooted in collective liberation.

📖 Recommended For: Activists interested in housing justice, readers seeking critiques of capitalism, those passionate about tenant organizing and collective action, fans of Matthew Desmond.

🔑 Key Themes: Housing as a Human Right, Anti-Capitalism, Tenant Solidarity, Racial and Economic Injustice, Collective Resistance and Organizing.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Genocide (minor), Racism (minor), Police Brutality (minor), Murder (minor), Pandemic (minor).

"Abolish Rent" by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis offers a powerful and illuminating examination of the housing crisis, vividly illustrating how rent exploits the poor while enriching the wealthy. The authors, who founded a tenant union, passionately advocate for tenant organization and mobilization against a deeply unjust system. They make a compelling case that by coming together, tenants can transform their everyday struggles into a dynamic movement for meaningful change. The book also explores historical wrongs like redlining and the current issue of corporations buying up single-family homes, displacing countless individuals and families.

This book really opened my eyes. It shows how messy and unregulated the rent and housing situation is in the U.S., benefiting the wealthy while many others suffer. The big question now is: How do we fix this deep-rooted problem? This book is an important step in starting and advancing this crucial conversation, and I’m excited to see where the discussion goes from here.

A huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the authors for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

I loved the focus the author has on tenants that live in LA and does a good job at acknowledging it’s not an LA centric crisis. It does lean into the blooming unionization of rent prices and conditions so there is a sense of hopefulness buried in the bleakness of the topic.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley, and this review is voluntary

Representing one aspect of the housing crisis, this literature discusses the personal experiences of tenants living in less than adequate conditions, while having to pay a lion's share of their paycheck for rent. Utilization of quantitative data to highlight the economic struggles of said tenants is also a point of engagement for the qualitative narrative. Lack of warranty of habitability is one common thread between all tenant stories. Despite the focus leaning more on the locale of Los Angeles, the authors make it clear that rents rising while wages stagnate is not a phenomenon central to Los Angeles, but in every city across the United States. Tenants all over are struggling to afford their rent.

What I found interesting was the creation, and involvement of a tenant's rights organization. It's no longer about the individual having to tackle this on their own, but now a union is present, and when there's community, there is power. Moreover, the authors also delve into a bit of the history of how we got here. Discriminatory practices in real estate, or Redlining, as an example. Although much of the text appears to be geared towards the private, individual landlord, there is also discussion of the contemporary issue of corporations becoming private landlords, and purchasing single-family homes en masse, and pricing folks out of homes.

For those looking for more organization, or an academic style of writing that can be found in Evicted, by Matthew Desmond, or The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein, this material is not structured as such. It's more personal, ideological. I'd say more like a manifesto, or the collective voice of those that are now fighting back for what they believe is a right to housing.

I was looking for something a bit more technical, or academic; however, I appreciate reading these thoughts, and knowing what I didn't know before.