| In this edition: – End Service Charge Abuse Updates – Political, Press and Petition – Hackney Council Residents Service Charge Strike – Fire Safety: Joint Letter with the Fire Brigades Union – Clarion Members: Call to Action – New Protest Date: Shared Ownership – SHAC Meeting with speakers from Nags Head & Thamesmead |
  Watch Here SHAC on BBC TV and RadioNotting Hill Genesis Service Charges SHAC was interviewed as part of an article about Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) persistently overcharging tenants and residents and then ignoring their requests for transparency. The affected households were promised refunds and corrections that never materialised … until the press arrived. NHG claim that charging for non-existent lifts, and imposing 100% service charges rises, were nothing more than simple budgeting errors. The case was also featured on a BBC Radio Surrey broadcast. Please like and share Article ~ Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram  Political Lobbying and Legal Project Our solicitors at the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) were copied into correspondence between the National Audit Office (NAO) and Mohammad Yasin MP. Mr Yasin was the lead MP who had written to the NAO asking them to investigate service charge abuse and overcharging by landlords which impacts on the public purse. His letter was supported and signed by 25 other MPs. The NAO’s letter referenced their meeting with SHAC and said that they had also held discussions with the Department for Work & Pensions, National Housing Federation, and Housing Ombudsman Service. The letter confirmed that they are working through the material they have gathered, and deliberating on whether to take action. During the week SHAC also approached the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook MP, asking him for a meeting with us to discuss the scale of service charge abuse and overcharging. When we approached him in the past he has rejected our invitation but if he does it again this time, we will make a formal complaint to Parliament and the Prime Minister. Please sign and share our Parliamentary Petition! We have done fantastically well with 8,100 signatures, but our target is 10,000 by the middle of June, only two months away! |
 Read Here Pitcairn House on Service Charge Strike With support from SHAC, thirty-two residents of Pitcairn House wrote to Hackney Council declaring their intention to withhold half their service charges from May. Residents say they were left with no choice after 18 months of fruitless attempts to engage with the council over a lack of repairs and service charge transparency. Please like and share: Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram |
 Service Charge Strikes Press Release SHAC will shortly issue a press release on the growing number of tenants and residents withholding payment over extortionate and inaccurate service charges and/or other landlord failings. By grouping together a number of different payment strikes, we hope to get more coverage of this tactic, and inspire others to take the same action. If you are withholding payment and would like to be included, please email details to shac.action@gmail.com by close of play on Friday 25th April. |
 SHAC and the Fire Brigades Union joint Action Over Fire Safety Concerns SHAC was contacted by the Senior Campaigns Officer at the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) asking us to sign a joint letter alongside Bromley residents and the FBU to the Greater London Authority and Bromley Borough Council. We were honoured to add our name. The FBU is campaigning to highlight fire and building safety risks posed by plans to build a new high-rise development at Blenheim Shopping Centre in Penge. They have serious concerns that one of the residential blocks will only have one staircase for evacuation. Clarion Housing is involved in the development. |
 SHAC@Clarion: Call to Action Chris Coghlan MP said recently on BBC Radio Surrey that he is going to raise the unaccountability of Clarion Housing Group in Parliament. If you are a Clarion tenant or resident, please write to your own MP asking them to raise the fact that Clarion is causing problems for their constituents, and to support the MP (Chris) in any action he intends to take to hold the landlord to account. We have provided a suggested text here. |
 Shared Ownership: Protest the London Homes Show 10am – 3pm, Saturday 26 April Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, London SW1P 3EE (map) If you are able to get along next weekend, please join our protest outside the London Home Show. It’s the sales show for shared ownership in the capital, and we’ll be there to tell prospective buyers the truth about this toxic tenure! |
 Taking Action ~ Online meeting with speakers from the Nags Head and Thamesmead campaigns 6.30pm, Thursday 24th April Alongside our regular updates, we will be joined in April by guest speakers talking about inspiring campaigns on Peabody’s Nags Head and Thamesmead estates. Kevin and Esther will describe how they have organised to challenge their landlord and hold them to account. Save the link: www.tinyurl.com/ShacAct Add the event to your calendar here. |
 SHAC Social Housing Exhibition ~ Send Your Artworks! SHAC is curating an online exhibition on the theme of social housing, and we are inviting people to submit artworks. They can cover any aspect of social housing, whether good or bad, with a maximum of three artworks per person. There is no restriction on the type of media that can be used. However, the exhibition will be hosted online, and artworks therefore will need to be in a format that works on a web page. This includes images and creative words such as poetry, music, or short videos. Please use our exhibition webpage to submit your work. |
 Next Meeting Date: SHAC Action Update Meeting Our next monthly SHAC meeting will report on progress across campaigns and allow members to share actions and events. As well as our regular updates, we will hear about inspiring campaigns on the Nags Head and Thamesmead estates. Guest speakers will describe how they have organised to challenge their landlords and hold them to account. We are pleased to announce that in April, we have guest speakers discussing their campaigns and actions to help inspire others. 6.30pm, Thursday 24 April 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 our themed and landlord WhatsApp groups SHAC Campaigns Tribunals Support | SHAC Leaseholders & Shared Owners | Housing Ombudsman | Payment Strike Clarion | Hyde | MTVHA | Notting Hill Genesis | Riverside / One Housing | L&Q Southern | Peabody | Guinness | Home Group | THCH | A2 Dominion | SNG | Council Housing Tenants & Residents |
 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. A member posting details of the Government petition gained 1,800 views on the Nextdoor app within the first 48 hours and received offers of support from some who signed. The petition still needs more signatures which currently stands at 8,130. We only have until 19 June to help it to reach 10,000 signatures which will trigger a response from Government. You can encourage Nextdoor users to share the petition with their network of contacts, even if they don’t live in social housing properties themselves. It all helps to promote our objectives for the petition. Joining Nextdoor will also help to raise awareness of SHAC’s work and encourage more recruits to lobby the Government and get our voices heard. |