Employing prop-tech to contest landlord power in Montreal
Topics: Urban Geography
, Digital Geographies
, Urban and Regional Planning
Keywords: housing, landlords and tenants, property tech, short-term rentals, financialization, data activism
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 76
Authors:
Danielle Kerrigan, McGill University
Cloé St-Hilaire, University of Waterloo
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Abstract
From smart locks and landlord linked digital noise and smoke detectors, to the proliferation of short-term rentals (STRs) such as Airbnb and tenant blacklists, Montreal’s image as a ‘renter’s paradise’ is crumbling. More subtly, prop-tech is being deployed behind the scenes to facilitate the efforts of REITs and other financial vehicles as they purchase huge amounts of Montreal’s rental stock (St-Hilaire, 2021). On the other hand, activist groups have leveraged big data and methods such as scraping to unveil the identity of large landlords (Findmylandlord), opening the door to tenant organizing and mobilization, something that has not been easy to do beforehand (Graziani et al., 2020; McElroy, 2020). Housing committees have also been at the root of numerous strikes and demands for enhanced digital tools, notably rent registries, to be able to enforce (or more accurately, demand enforcement of) Montreal’s rent control laws (RCLALQ, 2021) and have partnered with scholar-activists to use data to monitor the rise of STRs (Agrawal, et a. 2020; Kerrigan & Wachsmuth, 2020).
This paper by Kerrigan and St-Hilaire argues that the expanded research opportunities made available by big data and emancipatory, democratic research methods has the potential of building a solid foundation for contesting the consolidation of rental housing ownership in the city. By showcasing three ‘actually existing’ examples employed in the Montreal context prop tech’s applicability as a complimentary tool for tenant organizers and activists will be evaluated.
Employing prop-tech to contest landlord power in Montreal
Category
Virtual Paper Abstract
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