As the economic shutdown pares tenants’ incomes, April payments have been reduced, deferred or withheld. Some landlords see their property at risk.

Truthout interviews Kamau Walton, National Communications Organizer of Right to the City Alliance about Cancel Rent and the Beyond Recovery Campaign.

Tenants and housing groups across the country are calling for a pause on rent and mortgage payments.

Oakland City Councilwoman Nikki Fortunato Bas and other Bay Area speakers joined a national digital rally on Wednesday calling for government entities to cancel rent, mortgage and utility payments in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Interest in tenant activism has surged in the face of the coronavirus. Organizers are trying to seize the moment and build a movement.