SHAC@Clarion was formed to campaign for a better deal for tenants and residents of this giant landlord. It now has its own Steering Group of Clarion tenants to direct campaigning.
See the photos and film of our protest outside Clarion’s waterfront fortress head office on the 7th May here.
The #ClarionMoreThanYouCanBear Campaign
On the 19th May, Clarion is hosting a meeting open to all tenants and residents. It goes under the patronising title of ‘More Than You Think’ and will allow attendees to hear about how their landlord is doing more than they realise for residents’ benefit.
We believe that this event has been set up in response to the Clarion Wall of Protest campaign that SHAC has been running.
Join us in an action to highlight the hypocrisy of this carefully stage-managed PR stunt. Fortunately their advert was easily adaptable and we thought it would be rude not to exploit the opportunity. We have created eight graphics to share on social media. Please download them and share, share, share on your social media.
Please use the hashtag #ClarionMoreThanYouCanBear and tag SHAC via @HAWRNet, plus #clarionhousing so that it is made highly visible.
The Wall of Protest
It’s a simple but powerful idea – SHAC@Clarion members are hanging flags from their windows imploring the landlord to ‘See Us, Hear Us’. We want Clarion to speak to SHAC about a series of demands to address the systemic problems members are experiencing.
- See our Wall of Protest
- To get involved, contact shac.action@gmail.com.
The Clarion Leaseholders Service Charge ‘Strike’
Leaseholders of Clarion living on an estate in west London are withholding payment of service charge increases after they were sent bills raising costs by up to 382%. See the full story here.
Our Demands
The primary improvements needed at Clarion relate to:
- Repairs
- Maintenance
- Genuine tenant and resident engagement
- Rents
- Service charges
Clarion ‘Rent Free’ Weeks
While some Clarion tenants qualify for ‘rent free’ weeks, Clarion has decided it will no longer automatically stop collecting rent for these weeks. Instead, it will make tenants go through a stressful and time constrained process to qualify (just in case some tenants would prefer to still pay their rent!).
No doubt this will ensure that a proportion of tenants fail to call or to meet the deadline, thus helping contribute even more to the landlord’s vast surpluses!
Useful Links
- Download the Clarion Call leaflet.
- Read more about why in our article Clarion Tenants Complaints Group Gathers Strength.
- Register here for SHAC@Clarion or email your responses here.
An Association Awash with Resources
Clarion may plead economic necessity for reducing the quality of services and rejecting decent pay increases for staff outside the executive elite, but the reality is that this giant landlord is awash with funds.
Clarion’s Financial Statement for 2019 boasts “We have increased our turnover by 3% and our operating surplus for the year by 4%”, in both cases beating inflation. They continue:
“Our operating surplus increased to £293 million (2019: £282 million) and our net surplus increased to £168 million (2019: £154 million) with operating and net margins remaining in line with the prior year at 35% and 20% respectively”
This level of growth would be making headlines if Clarion were a privately listed (FTSE 100) company, and shareholders would certainly be celebrating.
While tenants are squeezed to pay yet more for services, there is little prudence when it comes to setting executive salaries. Almost sixty senior staff are paid more than £100,000 per year. The Chief Executive receives a basic salary of £392,339, and got a bonus of almost £40,000 – more than some staff received for a full time job within the organisation. Clare Miller is reportedly the third highest-paid CEO of any English housing association.
