CATU Ireland

The Community Action Tenants' Union (CATU) Ireland is a dynamic, grassroots, and member-led organization that has rapidly emerged as a powerful force in the struggle for housing rights and community empowerment across the island of Ireland. Founded in Dublin in October 2019, CATU was born out of a collective recognition by seasoned housing activists that a more sustained, community-based, and unionized approach was needed to tackle Ireland's escalating housing crisis and the erosion of public services and spaces.

A Union for Life Beyond the Workplace:

The foundational idea of CATU is remarkably simple yet revolutionary: to take the core principles of trade unionism – membership, collective direct action, and grassroots democracy – and apply them to people's lives outside of their workplaces. This means uniting individuals not based on their profession, but on their shared experience of living in communities and grappling with housing insecurity. CATU's membership is intentionally broad and inclusive, encompassing:

• Renters: Both private and council tenants, who face issues ranging from skyrocketing rents and precarious tenures to mould, disrepair, and unjust evictions.
• Council Tenants: Fighting for better maintenance, improved services, and the protection of public housing stock.
• Mortgage Holders: Individuals concerned about rising costs, the threat of repossession, and ensuring future generations have access to affordable housing.
• People in Emergency & Precarious Living Situations: Including those in direct provision (asylum seeker accommodation), emergency accommodation, or other vulnerable housing arrangements.
• Anyone who does not profit from housing: This explicitly excludes landlords, property developers, and those whose business directly involves carrying out evictions, ensuring that the union's focus remains squarely on the rights and needs of residents.

This inclusive membership model allows CATU to address a wide spectrum of housing-related issues, from individual tenancy disputes to broader systemic challenges affecting entire communities.

Daring to Struggle, Daring to Win: A Discussion on the International Tenants Movement

Roots in Activism and a Vision for Power:

Many of CATU's founding members brought a decade of experience in housing activism, having participated in significant protests and campaigns such as the Apollo House occupation, Home Sweet Home, Take Back The City, and Right2Water. They drew inspiration not only from these impactful local movements but also from successful tenant and trade union movements across Britain and Europe, particularly the Scottish tenants' union Living Rent, and the historical legacy of the 1960s Dublin Housing Action Committee and the National Association of Tenants Organisations (NATO), which famously led a national rent strike in the early 1970s. This rich lineage underscores CATU's commitment to sustained, organized struggle rather than sporadic protest.

CATU's vision is to build a powerful, deeply rooted organization across cities and towns throughout the entire island of Ireland, uniting tenants and communities in a coordinated struggle on common issues. They firmly believe that real power lies in the collective hands of ordinary people, and that meaningful change can only come when they act together. They explicitly state:

"We think that the only way to beat those behind this – the landlords, banks, companies and politicians – is to get organised ourselves, and NOT just on an individual basis."

Core Principles and How CATU Operates:

CATU's operations are guided by a set of clear principles that prioritize collective power and democratic action:

Membership-Based and Member-Led: CATU is owned and primarily funded by its members through monthly dues, typically ranging from €5 to €20, with an average of just over €8 per member. Membership is free for asylum seekers and those in Direct Provision, ensuring accessibility for the most vulnerable. This financial independence is crucial, as it means the union is not reliant on government or corporate funding, which they are often fighting against. Members have an equal vote and are directly involved in decision-making and campaigning.

Collective Direct Action: Instead of individual pleading, CATU promotes collective direct action. This involves organized, public-facing actions designed to apply pressure on landlords, councils, banks, and politicians to meet specific, winnable demands. This can include:

• • Eviction Resistance: Physically blocking evictions or organizing mass phone/email pickets to support members facing eviction.
  • Campaigns for Repairs and Improvements: Mobilizing members to demand landlords address issues like mould, inadequate insulation, or maintenance neglect.
  • Protests: Marches on landlords' homes or businesses, occupations of public spaces, or demonstrations at government offices.
  • Community Organizing: Bringing neighbors together to address shared concerns beyond individual tenancies, such as fighting for improved local services or preventing the privatization of public land.

Grassroots Democracy: Decisions within CATU are made democratically at the local and national levels. Local groups (15-20 members) can launch, elect committees, and decide on initial campaigns. When a local group reaches 40 members, it can become a formal branch, electing a local committee and a national representative. This decentralized, yet coordinated, structure ensures that campaigns are rooted in the specific needs and concerns of local communities while benefiting from broader union solidarity.

Organizing, Not Just Advocacy or Service Provision: CATU explicitly states it is not a service provider, a charity, or an advocacy group that speaks for the oppressed. Instead, it provides the training, tools, and organizational structure to empower affected individuals to fight back with their community beside them. This fundamental distinction means that every member is encouraged to be actively involved in the struggle, avoiding power dynamics that can disempower marginalized groups.

Building Power Through Wins: CATU believes that winning concrete, achievable campaigns demonstrates the power of collective action. Each win, whether it's getting a repair done, resisting an eviction, or securing a community amenity, builds confidence among members and raises expectations for what can be achieved through organized effort. These wins are often publicized (with consent) to inspire others and showcase the union's effectiveness.

Key Campaign Areas and Achievements:

CATU tackles the economic issues plaguing ordinary people across Ireland, including sky-rocketing rents, precarious housing, and the erosion of public spaces. Their campaigns are varied and impact daily lives:

• Eviction Defence: A core activity is supporting members to resist unjust or "no-fault" evictions, leveraging collective power to keep families in their homes.
• Rent Control and Regulation: Advocating for stronger rent controls and challenging policies that favor corporate landlords.
• Housing as a Public Good: Campaigning for universally accessible public housing, asserting that housing should not be a commodity for profit.
• Landlord Accountability: Building a comprehensive database of information on landlords, including their property holdings, to effectively target pressure and organize protests. This crucial research is often carried out by dedicated, though currently volunteer, teams.
• Tenant-in-Situ Scheme: Advocating for the effective implementation and expansion of schemes like the Tenant-in-Situ (TiS) scheme, which allows local authorities to purchase homes to prevent homelessness.
• Challenging Short-Term Lets: Campaigns like Galway's "Homes, Not Holiday Lets" highlight the detrimental impact of short-term rental platforms (like Airbnb) on housing supply and affordability, and pressure councils to enforce existing legislation.
• Anti-Racism Work: Recognizing the intersectionality of housing issues, CATU actively engages in anti-racism work, building solidarity with marginalized groups such as those in Direct Provision, and challenging narratives that blame migrants for the housing crisis.
• Community Amenities: Beyond individual housing, CATU branches organize around broader community issues, such as fighting for the preservation of public spaces or improved local services.

In a short period since its founding, CATU has witnessed remarkable growth, expanding from a few dozen founders to approximately 1,750 members by late 2022, with over 20 formally established branches and numerous local groups building towards official launches across Ireland's 32 counties. This growth underscores the urgent need for such an organization and its effectiveness in mobilizing people around shared concerns.

CATU Ireland represents a powerful, democratic, and increasingly influential response to Ireland's profound housing crisis. By empowering ordinary people to organize, take collective action, and demand their rights, it is actively building a movement dedicated to securing safe, secure, and affordable homes for all, transforming individual struggles into a collective fight for social and economic justice.