BASTA is a non-profit project dedicated to helping Austin renters work with their neighbors to improve conditions in their homes and communities. Our team or tenant organizers, lawyers, and paralegals support tenants access to healthy and safe housing through organizing, campaigns, strategizing, and tenant education and leadership development. As Austin's only renter organizing project, BASTA focuses heavily on change through collective action and consensus-based decision making. Conducting Outreach Connecting with renters helps us identify common problems they face. We reach out to renters by visiting their apartment complexes and attending community events. Forming Tenants Associations We support renters in developing Tenants Associations (TAs) in which neighbors discuss their common goals toward safer, healthier, and more dignified living situations. We also help facilitate cross-cultural interactions among renters with a focus on language justice. Educating on Tenant Rights We educate renters about their rights under Texas landlord-tenant law using popular education techniques such as visual aids, games, skits, and interactive presentations and games. Strategizing to Improve Conditions We work with tenants associations to help them choose the best tactics to achieve their desired outcomes. Strategies include collective requests for repairs, meetings with management and other stakeholders, and legal advocacy. Training Tenant Leaders Our goal is to build sustainable and autonomous tenants associations by cultivating tenant leadership. We train renters in outreach, facilitation, negotiation, campaign planning and research, and connect them with tenant leaders across the country.