Working with researchers from Maynooth University, members of the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) are carrying out an oral history project on the history of housing activism in Ireland.
They are focusing on the successful national rent strike which took place between 1970 and 1973 and was coordinated by the National Association of Tenants Organisations. Waterford City was a key site in this campaign.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the rapid growth of the tenants’ movement in Waterford City in response to dissatisfaction with housing conditions and high rents, with local associations in St John’s Park, Lisduggan, Kingsmeadow, Roanmore, Rockenham and Ferrybank uniting to form the Waterford Tenants Association. Faced with further rent increases in April 1970, Waterford tenants began withholding their rent in order to pressure the City Manager to negotiate.
On 11th April 1970, the Irish Independent reported that “all tenants have been instructed not to pay any rent at all until further notice.” The beginning of the rent strike was marked by a protest march through the city attended by over 2,000 people.
Dr Fiadh Tubridy, a CATU member and researcher at Maynooth University, explains that: “these rent strikes were a huge social movement involving tens of thousands of people in Waterford and other towns and cities around the country. Despite this, they have been almost entirely forgotten about. We want to make sure that these events and the experiences of the people who took part are properly recorded”.
The campaign in Waterford also played a key role in sparking a national rent strike. When a deal was negotiated between the Waterford Tenants Association and the City Manager, this was vetoed by the Minister for Local Government. This led, in November 1972, to the declaration of countrywide rent strike with the aim of forcing the Minister to negotiate. Through their campaign, the tenants succeeded in winning lower rents and recognition of the National Association of Tenants Organisations as the official negotiating body for council tenants, which meant they had to be consulted about any proposals for future rent increases.
Aisling Hedderman, the CATU training and education coordinator, adds that: “the rent strikes in the 1970s were in response to high rents, poor housing conditions and a rising cost of living, much like what we are seeing now. CATU is a new community and tenants’ union which has been set up in the past few years. We want to understand what communities did in the past to improve their housing conditions and learn from their example.”
The CATU community history research group is looking to speak with anyone who was involved in the rent strike in Waterford or who has relevant information.
Contact the research team on [email protected] or 0877197874.
