housing

Well, well, well, just when you think society cannot become more debased, news comes along that Laura Johnson has been appointed permanent Director of Development and Property at the Barnet Group, which manages the borough's 13,000 council homes. This is the same Laura Johnson who, as Director of Housing at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, played a principal role in the cost-cutting that led to the Grenfell fire.

A member of SolFed and the London Renters Union will be giving a talk on a little known case of working class direct action; the Stepney rent strikes.

The rent strikes organised by Stepney Tenants Defence League in the thirties saw barricades raised at blocks of flats and stopped evictions, got rents lowered and forced landlords to do repairs. What can we learn today from this exemplary movement? Come and hear tales of flour bombs and rolling pins and discuss the lessons of the rent strike for our movement today.

The talk will take place on Wednesday the 29th of October, at Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road E1 5QJ, from 7pm to 9pm.

A planned eviction of of tenants in East London was stopped by people from London Renters Union blocking the doorway for five hours. The landlord and estate agents repeatedly came to the house, and people several times linked arms and blocked the door. Finally the landlord agreed to some breathing space for the tenants, who had nowhere to go, to find a new place.

Most evictions are not resisted, often the landlord does not even get a court order, tenants simply leave. Is it really worth doing eviction resistance, when the tenants will have to move out eventually?

A tenant renting with a major local letting agent won back the entirety of their “0 deposit” charges after two pickets of the letting agency. A member of Brighton SolFed recently moved out of their rented property and was hit with a number of absurd end of tenancy charges. They had entered into a “0 deposit” tenancy, managed by a third party company who were chasing up our member for these costs. Disgracefully, the company were charging a significant fee just to challenge these costs, which forced our member into paying these charges, despite disagreeing with them all. 

Newcastle SolFed stall in Sunderland on Sat 19 Nov 11am to 1pm

Unpaid wages? | Housing issues? | In need of Solidarity?

Visit our stall at Market Square

@NewcastleSF

Who does this guide apply to?

Private Renters: Y

Social Housing Renters - sometimes 

Lodgers: N

Squatters: N

Introduction

We are so used to landlords - and the power they have - that they can seem unchallengeable. They make profit from our need for a home, and using the courts and the police, can make us homeless. While the situation for tenants in the UK is dire - and looks to get worse under COVID-19 - we still have rights under the law and community power to protect us.

This sheet deals with Landlord Harassment. If you are having trouble with a Section 21 eviction or Rent Arrears check out our other guides. For ways to fight back without going through the courts, check our Stuff Your Landlord guide.

Who does this guide apply to?

Private Renters: Y

Social Housing Renters: Y

Lodgers: N

Squatters: N

Introduction

We are so used to landlords - and the power they have - that they can seem unchallengeable. They make profit from our need for a home, and using the courts and the police, can make us homeless. While the situation for tenants in the UK is dire - and looks to get worse under COVID-19 - we still have rights under the law and community power to protect us.

This sheet deals with Rent Arrears. If you are having trouble with Landlord Harassment or have been served a Section 21 notice check out our other guides. For ways to fight back without going through the courts, check our Stuff Your Landlord guide.

Who does this guide apply to?

The law on Rent Arrears applies to two types of tenancies.

Who does this guide apply to?

Private Renters: Y

Social Housing Renters: N* 

Lodgers: N

Squatters: N

*Some Housing Associations use Assured Shorthold Tenancies as an introductory tenancy for the first year, so it’s good to check.

Introduction

We are so used to landlords - and the power they have - that they can seem unchallengeable. They make profit from our need for a home, and using the courts and the police, can make us homeless. While the situation for tenants in the UK is dire - and looks to get worse under COVID-19 - we still have rights under the law and community power to protect us.

This guide deals with Section 21 notices. If you are having trouble with Landlord Harassment or Rent Arrears check out our other guides. For ways to fight back without going through the courts, check our Stuff Your Landlord guide.

Our dispute against YPP Lettings has been closed after the tenant accepted an improved offer, a reduction in rent of 22% (or £660). The letting agency made an offer before any direct action was needed, although we had declared our intent to undertake such action.

Liverpool Solidarity Federation was contacted by a tenant of Gravity Residence. Due to the pandemic she had to move back to her family home, leaving behind all her belongings in the apartment. Since then, she had tried to reach a sensible agreement with YPP to finish her tenancy earlier. The YPP position was unreasonable, they offered a shameful 5% deduction from her total amount if she paid all the amount by the beginning of April.

This summer, over a dozen G4Lets tenants successfully withheld their final month’s rent payment to claim back their tenancy deposit. G4Lets are notorious deposit thieves, usually taking most or all of a deposit for dubious and inflated charges that take months to challenge through their chosen deposit protection scheme, MyDeposits.