Autonomous Tenants Union is an all-volunteer organization committed to organizing for housing justice from below and to the left. As an independent collective based in Chicago, we strategize together to defend and enforce our right to dignified housing. We believe that housing is a human right, not a commodity! We fight for an end to all evictions, and for community control of housing through the building of popular power.

POINTS OF UNITY

MUTUAL SUPPORT – No one is alone. We commit to having each other’s backs, and to listen to and support one another through our struggles.

COLLECTIVE ACTION – Taking action together gets the goods. We will not win what we deserve if we fight alone.

Protest sign reading "Abolish Landlords"
EQUALITY – No matter your race, gender, sexual orientation, or physical ability. As working class people, we are equals and must treat each other as equals while loving our differences. We must work day-to-day to challenge sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and all other prejudices that divide us.

FIGHTING BACK AGAINST ALL EVICTIONS – No matter what the reason, no one should have to face displacement or homelessness.

EVERYONE DESERVES DIGNIFIED HOUSING – No one deserves to live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

LANDLORDS’ INTERESTS ARE OPPOSED TO OUR OWN – Everyone needs a place to live, but nobody needs a landlord. Landlords exploit us by owning more property than they need and collecting rent from the rest of us. The more money they extract from us, the more property they can buy - they get ahead, and we fall behind. Exploitation is central to how a landlord makes a profit, so landlords are the enemy in our fight for housing that is free of exploitation.

COMMUNITY CONTROL OF HOUSING – Housing needs to be permanently owned by and in control of the community, instead of being owned by the rich for the sole purpose of making profit.

SOLIDARITY – An injury to one is an injury to all.

GENTRIFICATION IS NOT INEVITABLE – Gentrification is a process led and nurtured by various stakeholders like developers, landlords, business owners, and politicians.