| In this edition: – SHAC and Royal Mint Court Protestors in the News – Service Charge Abuse: 22 MPs Sign the Letter – Report on Joint Project with Greater Manchester Tenants Union – Meeting Dates Including Exhibition Project |
 Watch Here In the News: SHAC Members and Protestors at Royal Mint Court The Chinese Government wants to land a ‘super embassy’ next to MTVH properties on the Royal Mint Court estate in east London. The plans have already been rejected twice by Tower Hamlets Council, but the final decision rests with government. Tenants and residents fear their concerns about the construction phase disruption plus ongoing intrusive, high security will be swept aside. Their protests made the ITV news. SHAC is supporting tenants and residents on the estate. Please like and share: Facebook – BlueSky – Twitter – Instagram |
 End Service Charge Abuse: 22 MPs Sign SHAC’s Letter to the NAO Our deadline has now closed for MPs to sign a letter urging the National Audit Office (NAO) to investigate service charges. Although the NAO does not audit housing associations, they are tasked with ensuring that public money is properly spent, yet there is no system for scrutinising service charge payments to landlords. This needs to be investigated. You can see which MPs signed the letter here. We received many positive responses even from those who didn’t sign. For example, Carla Denyer (Bristol) wrote: “Thank you for raising the issue of unfair service charges and sharing the briefings from SHAC – they are doing fantastic work to support tenants and residents. I absolutely agree that service charge abuse needs to be tackled … this would not happen in other sectors and we desperately need changes to bring legislation up to date.” This recognition shows the importance of contacting MPs about service charge abuse, even if they don’t take the action we seek. We will now meet the Public Interest Law Centre to prepare the pack for the NAO, including Tribunal judgements and the many pieces of evidence sent by members. We are very grateful to all who have contributed, whether by encouraging their MPs to sign, helping with research, or sending information. We will continue reporting progress at our meetings and in SHAC Action. |
 Meeting Report: SHAC & Greater Manchester Tenants’ Union On Thursday, we launched a joint initiative with the Greater Manchester Tenants Union (GMTU) which might provide a template for other landlord groups. GMTU is targeting Riverside Housing (including One Housing) and are inviting members to collaborate wherever they are in the country. Disrepairs The first part of the project relates to disrepairs. We would encourage everyone with outstanding disrepairs to make a complaint to Riverside. We can provide a template. So far, GMTU members have received around £70,000 in compensation from Riverside. General Failings The second part relates to general failings as a landlord. We aim to compile evidence of failure to deal effecitvely with ASB, repairs, service charges, and other issues. This will be collated by SHAC and GMTU and submitted to the Regulator of Social Housing with a demand to take action against them. We will be contacting our Riverside / One Housing members shortly. Other Landlords If tenants and residents of other landlords are interested, please email shac.action@gmail.com and we can share templates and guidance. First however, please speak to others on your estate and encourage them to join SHAC (free) here so that we can unify the complaints. |
| 2025 Meeting Dates |
 Meeting: 6.30pm ~ Wednesday 19th Feb A National Tenants and Residents Union This meeting is for those who want to give time to the project, rather than just hold a discussion on the union. The aim is to agree action points for everyone to follow up. Please register here. Please also ask your tenants and residents association (TRA) to add their name as supporters of the project. The TRA doesn’t have to be formally set up or recognised by a landlord, and can cover multiple landlords. If the TRA has a name, it can be added here. |
 Meeting: 6.30pm ~ Wednesday 5th March Social Housing Online Exhibition Inspired by Carl Davis’s article on the Hard Graft exhibition, we aim to curate an online exhibition showing both the positive and negative impact on tenants and residents of living in social housing. Our meeting will begin the planning process and is open to all interested. 6.30pm ~ Wednesday 5th March Zoom Link ~ ID: 832 8333 4555 ~ Passcode: 337269Add to calendar |
 SHAC Campaign Update Meeting Our monthly SHAC meetings report on progress across all campaigns and allow members to share actions and events: 6.30pm, Thursday 27th February 2025 Zoom link ~ ID: 823 4952 0596 ~ Passcode: 656982 Add to calendar The times and dates for all 2025 monthly meetings are all available on our Events page. |
 Join Nextdoor Nextdoor Network Posting a message on the Nextdoor app is one great way to encourage tenants and residents from your landlord (or other housing associations) to join SHAC and build critical strength. Nextdoor is a Facebook-style social networking site that links people in the same locality. You can find out more and get set up here. Some of our members have been very successful in using it to raise awareness of SHAC’s work, in one case getting 1,800 views for a single post, and recruiting neighbours who are also residents of her landlord. |
| Join our themed and landlord WhatsApp groups SHAC Campaigns | Tribunals Support | SHAC Leaseholders & Shared OwnersClarion | Hyde | MTVHA | Notting Hill Genesis | Riverside / One Housing | L&Q Southern | Peabody | Guinness | Home Group | Councils | THCH | A2 Dominion | Housing Ombudsman Action |