In 2000, after years of advocacy spearheaded by MAHT and other tenant groups nationwide, HUD adopted strong Right to Organize regulations (24 CFR Part 245), in English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. The regulations affirm and protect the rights of tenants in privately-owned, HUD assisted multifamily housing to organize their neighbors and collectively address issues in their buildings free from management harassment or intimidation. HUD tenants also persuaded HUD to incorporate by reference the Right to Organize regulations in the standard Model Lease that every HUD tenant signs with their landlord.

Legitimate Tenant Associations and Protected Activities

The Right to Organize regulations define a “legitimate” tenants association as a group that “meets regularly, operates democratically, is representative of all tenants in the development, and completely independent of owners and their agents”.  

The regulations are written to give tenants in an early-stage "Organizing Committee" protected rights to organize, as long as they meet these standards.  The regulations do NOT require written by-laws, incorporation or even elections, for an Organizing Committee to be protected by HUD and recognized by HUD and owners as a legitimate tenant association.  

The Right to Organize regulations also provide a list of activities that HUD tenants have the right to perform in order to establish, promote, participate in and operate a tenant organization. Examples of these activities include,

• convening regularly scheduled meetings in a space on site and accessible to tenants, in a manner that is fully independent of management representatives
• distributing leaflets in lobby areas; placing leaflets at or under tenant's doors, distributing leaflets in common areas
• initiating contact with tenants
• conducting door-to-door surveys
• formulating responses to owner's requests for: rent increases; partial payment of claims

and others. Additionally, owners and management must allow tenant organizers to assist tenants in establishing and operating tenant organizations.

Enforcing the Right to Organize

In some developments, the property owner or management may feel threatened by the formation of a tenant association, and attempt to disrupt or undermine it. They may try to

• divide the tenant association by harassing tenant leaders
• offer preferential treatment to some tenants and not others
• intimidate tenants from participating
• discredit the tenants association by claiming that it does not represent the residents, send around notices asking tenants to sign an affidavit stating that the association does not represent them, or form their own tenant association
• Verbally or physically threaten members of the organizing committee or association, including with threats of eviction

As outlined in HUD's Management Agent Handbook (4381.5, REV 2), it is illegal for building owners and property managers to violate the organizing rights of HUD tenants. Chapter 4 "Working with Residents" defines what actions taken by management are prohibited actions include: 

• Denying an accessible meeting place for tenant meetings
• Sending management representatives to tenant meetings when tenants have not invited them
• Penalizing tenants for utilizing their organizing rights through eviction, the threat of eviction, or withholding other entitlements
• Attempting to influence the decisions of tenant organization leaders through bribes or preferential treatment
• Forming a competing tenant organization under the control of the owner or property manager
• Sexual harassment of tenants by owners or property managers

Several overlapping laws and regulations, including HUD's Notice 2016-5 - passed after years of advocacy by MAHT and its partners - and Massachusetts State Law Chapter 186, further prohibit owners from retaliating against tenants for attempting to organize. The Notice also establishes a procedure for tenants to file complaints about violations with their local HUD office, and a list of possible penalties owners may face for violating regulations.