Rent stabilization is a law that makes housing more affordable to thousands of New Yorkers by limiting how often and how much rent can go up. But tenants don’t always know their rights, and are sometimes afraid to demand them. Landlords eager to cash in on increasing property values often pressure tenants to move out, and harass them to make it difficult for them to stay.
In 2013, CUP collaborated with the Chinatown-based organization CAAAV and designers IntraCollaborative to create a Chinese and English fold-out poster that helps all tenants, including rent stabilized tenants, know and claim their rights. CAAAV recognized that, despite important laws on the books, many people couldn’t access their rights because they didn’t know about them, and as a result were being illegally evicted. The project has been developed into a Spanish-language edition and a subway poster campaign. It has been so successful and influential that the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) approached CUP about updating and adapting it to reach a larger audience in 2017.
The poster provides information on how to challenge harassment and other illegal practices, and how to find tenant resources. The HPD version also includes content explaining new and updated policies to combat harassment and discrimination in housing.
You can get copies of the poster here, or read more about the original project here.