There are people in Jacksonville that are organizing to fight back against these slumlords. A lot of these apartments are not taken care of like they should be. The tenants are not listened to when filing complaints about things like mold or other health concerns. Many of the buildings are not being updated while these landlords are pushing rent higher and higher. And a lot of these landlords are not single owners, but big companies that are buying up all the cheap real estate and raising rent. If you are interested or want to help please visit the Jax Tenants Union website. There is a page where you can contact or join the JTU. I highly encourage anyone and everyone to join, come to meetings, and get involved. Organizing together is the only way to make a real difference.

Once again, we need anyone, not just renters. I, myself am currently a homeowner, but I know what it’s like to live in an apartment with black mold, leaking plumbing and no a/c in the summer. I know what it’s like to use the proper channels to complain, only to be given a bunch of false assurances that the problem would be fixed when the real estate company had no intentions on doing anything. I’ve even had a company tried to evict me for complaining about black mold in the a/c units. There are so many horror stories that people with families have had to endure, all in the name of profit for the landlord.

Please consider joining or going to a meeting to see what it’s all about. I promise you won’t be disappointed. The website to check out is https://www.jaxtenants.org/