| In this issue: – Conference: Just One Week to Go / Housing Sector Podcast – SHAC Article – Plus Dane Charges – SHAC Response to Government Consultation – Research Help |
| Just one week to go! |
 National Tenants & Residents Union Conference We are very excited by the overwhelming interest in our conference to discuss forming a national tenants and residents union. It takes place in just one week’s time, and we look forward to a great discussion. Registration to attend in person is closed as we have reached capacity. However, you can still attend online by registering here. If online is not an option for you, please email shac.action@gmail.com in case of cancellations. Whatever aspect of the housing crisis is affecting you, please join us. Can you help with conference costs? SHAC relies on donations from members and the wider labour movement. We don’t normally have high costs, but the conference has significantly depleted our reserves. Any donation, no matter how small, will help replenish the pot and keep our vital work going. Please donate here. Please like and share:Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram |
 Listen Here To promote the event, housing campaigner Ben Jenkins and SHAC Secretary Suzanne Muna discuss the need for a national tenants and residents union on the Housing Sector podcast. Please like and share:Facebook ~ Twitter ~ BlueSky ~ Instagram |
 Read Here SHAC ArticlePlus Dane Charging Thousands for Services We Never See Ella Austen talks about a clause buried deep within her lease that bound her to pay for services provided by Plus Dane housing association. Her home was originally a council property and the charges were small. But after transfer to the housing association they rose dramatically – and all to maintain a small strip of grass and five trees. When Ella investigated the charges, she noted something deeply suspicious. Now, she is fighting them. Read here. Please like and share: Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram |
 End Service Charge Abuse:SHAC Response to Government Consultation As part of our ongoing campaign against service charge abuse, SHAC has responded to the recent government consultation entitled ‘Strengthening leaseholderprotections over charges and services’. The response particularly highlights the enforcement gap which undermines legal protections. With thanks to SHAC Committee member Martin Keegan for drafting. Read here. |
 Research Interviewee Call Out Sophie De Val is a PhD researcher studying experiences of living with mould in the rental sector. The study aims to understand what processes reproduce conditions of damp and mould, how it affects the home, and how different renters respond and manage, including organising. Interviews can take place at home, in a café, meeting space, or online. Interviews take between one and one and half hours. Sophie can offer a £25 voucher as a thank you for each person taking part per interview or visit if this is outside of paid work. Out-of-pocket expenses can also be reimbursed, for example childcare, travel, or access costs. For more information please see here, or contact Sophie directly via sdeval1@sheffield.ac.uk, or text, call, or WhatsApp: 07417509494. |
| Dates For Your Diary |
 SHAC Action Update Meeting Our next monthly SHAC meeting will hear updates on all our campaigns and is open to all members. It is an opportunity for you to share any campaigns or actions you are organising to challenge bad practice by your landlord. Please join us. 6.30pm, Thursday 16 October 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. |
 Sign Here Please share: Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram Parliamentary Petition: Service Charges SHAC is lobbying MPs asking them to support legal reforms and to highlight service charge abuse in Parliament. As part of this, we have launched a Parliamentary petition demanding legal changes to allow disputed service charges to be paid to the courts and only passed onto landlords if they can prove the legitimacy of the bills. Otherwise, the money is returned to the tenant or resident. To get this in place, it is not enough to just sign the petition, we need everyone to share it in their networks: friends, tenant and resident groups, colleagues at work, within your trade union, and across any social media platforms you use. |
| Join our WhatsApp Communities 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 | Sanctuary | SNG Council Housing Tenants & Residents | Private Corporate Landlords |
 Nextdoor Network – Recruit to SHAC Join Nextdoor 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. It will help to raise awareness of SHAC’s work and to encourage more recruits to lobby the Government and get our voices heard. 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. |