| In this edition: – End Service Charge Abuse in the News – SHAC Social Housing Exhibition Launch – Housing Protest Report – New SHAC WhatsApp: Payment Strikes – Research Help Request |
End Service Charge Abuse (ESCA) On BBC Radio 4 You and Yours Listen Here SHAC and our member Jules were interviewed for BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme. Together, we explained how people are being priced out of their homes, and how contradictory it is to cap rents but not service charges. The programme makers interviewed the National Housing Federation (NHF) which represents housing associations but the NHF apparently couldn’t spare any spokesperson to come on the show. Instead, they issued a statement claiming that landlords lose money on service provision which figures we were able to rebut. We suggested that allowing tenants and residents to pay disputed charges to the courts – and only releasing the payment to landlords if they can prove legitimacy – would help. We also stressed the need for a service charge regulator. Please like and share: Video – Bluesky – Twitter – Facebook – Instagram  In Housing Today Housing Today, a housing industry magazine, also ran a piece on service charging and asked ‘Are housing associations really overcharging residents?’. The article referred to our evidence by stating:- “Research by activist group Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC), the organisation responsible for pushing this issue to national attention, found that more than 70% of disputed service charge cases at the tribunal led to costs being reduced or removed.” The article is behind a £200 paywall, but the text was made available to us here which we are not supposed to broadcast publicly. In ‘This is the GSA Way’  Listen Here The latest episode in the excellent podcast series This is the GSA Way by Ben Jenkins highlights service charge abuse and SHAC’s campaign. Ben’s series has regularly highlighted failings by his landlord GreenSquareAccord (GSA), and their unsuccessful attempts to silence him. As always, it is well worth a listen here. |
 SHAC Social Housing ExhibitionSend 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. |
 Budget Day Protest: Housing & Disabled Campaigners On Wednesday as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced savage cuts to welfare payments that will particularly hit disabled people, housing protestors under the Homes for All banner joined forces with Disabled People Against Cuts and other campaigners for a day of action outside Parliament. SHAC Chair Niall Mulholland spoke on behalf of SHAC at the event. |
 New WhatsApp: Payment Strike Group Our latest WhatsApp group is for people who are withholding service charges or rents, and provides a space to share experiences and peer advice. The number of people now withholding payment is once again growing. A straw poll of those already in the group showed that around half of all participants are part of a larger group of tenants and residents taking action together. Sometimes people are resorting to this tactic because their service charges are extortionate. In other cases it is because repairs are not being done. In all cases, they have been forced to take this step because landlords have repeatedly failed to take the complaints seriously. Join the WhatsApp here. If you are considering this path, please also see our guidance on doing it as safely as possible here, the contents of which include template letters. |
 Research Help Request Vipin Chimrani is investigating the heating system issue in new social housing blocks at Brent Cross Town (Barnet) which welcomed its first set of residents under a social housing scheme earlier this March. To their surprise, residents found that the heat-pump based heating system is faulty, making living difficult especially for elderly and people with existing medical conditions. If you or someone you know has been affected, or if you are aware of any campaigns or action being taken, please get in touch with Vipin at Vipin.Chimrani@citystgeorges.ac.uk. |
 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: 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. One of our members posted details of the Government petition and gained 1,700 views and received offers of support from some who signed. It will help to raise awareness of SHAC’s work and encourage more recruits to lobby the Government and get our voices heard. |