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. We strongly believe that real power lies in the hands of ordinary people – tenants, communities, and workers – and change can only come when we act together. CATU is not just for renters, we want to facilitate all people to defend their communities and housing.

CATU is for single parents facing unjust evictions, it’s for students priced out of accommodation, as well as for older council tenants in need of vital property renovations. CATU is for private renters, battling mould in their overpriced accommodation while facing endless rent increases. CATU is for mortgage holders who don’t want their children to face this housing crisis, as well as those in emergency & precarious living situations. CATU is for community empowerment.

Our vision is of an organisation in cities and towns across this island, uniting people in a coordinated struggle on housing and community issues that affect us all.

As well as taking inspiration from tenant and trade union movements across Britain and Europe, CATU is a spiritual successor to the 1960’s Dublin Housing Action Committee and the numerous housing action groups from across the island, as well as The National Association of Tenants Organisations, who successfully led 100,000 tenants through a three-year-long rent strike against local authorities in the early 1970s.

In a short period since its founding, CATU has ballooned to a few thousand members, with active branches across Belfast, Derry, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Cork, Waterford, Dublin and more. Working together, we’re making material improvements to the lives of communities and individuals across Ireland and demanding safe, secure and affordable homes for all.

“For our demands most moderate are, We only want the earth.”

– James Connolly, 1907