In the middle of January, an extraordinary meeting was held between tenants and residents of Hyde from the Stockwell Towers estate, the Stockwell MP who helped facilitate the meeting Bell Ribeiro-Addy, and Hyde chief executive Andy Hulme alongside other Hyde staff, plus local councillors. The meeting was extraordinary because Hulme is notoriously shy about engaging… Continue reading Familiar Stories from Hyde’s Meeting with Stockwell Tenants and Residents
By Harold May* I have spent the 47 years of my adult working life employed in social housing. I am therefore well aware of what constitutes best practice, and by the same measure, what evidences bad practice. Due to a change in personal circumstances, I recently moved into a almshouse belonging to a local charity.… Continue reading The Wild and Unregulated World of Britain’s Almhouses
Sheltered housing residents have slammed Southern Housing for its ruthless decision to evict them in order to sell their homes By guest writer Gareth Sheppard* Since the abolition of the Housing Corporation in 2008 and the transfer of a reduced set of functions to what is now the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), rigorous scrutiny… Continue reading Ruthless Southern’s Threat to Evict Sheltered Housing Residents
More than 400 tenants and residents have pledged to support rent and service charge strikes in protest at rent increases and extortionate service charge rises, which will coincide with further hikes in energy bills. The pledges were made by tenants and residents actively resisting sharp rises in housing costs which are threatening the affordability of… Continue reading Rent & Service Charge Strike Pledges Grow
Optivo Housing Association, now merged with Southern Housing Group, has been accused of racism by community organisation Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL). The allegations were set out in an open letter to the landlord as the group fights the eviction of an Eritrean tenant served with a 'no fault eviction' notice by Optivo. Open… Continue reading Southern-Optivo Race Discrimination Accusation
Social housing tenants and residents have reacted with anger and dismay at Government's announcement allowing social rents to rise by up to 7%. Many say that it will inflict an unmanageable burden on their budgets. It is expected that almost all housing associations will utilise the full allowance. Supported housing is exempted from the rent… Continue reading Social Housing Tenants Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay Rent & Service Charge Rises
Announcement of the September 'RPI' inflation figure has sealed the rent rises that the majority of shared owners will be expected to pay. The RPI increase was confirmed by government as 12.6%, which translates into rent increases of 13.1% - 14.6%, depending on the formula used in the lease. Worst of Both Worlds Shared owners… Continue reading RPI Inflation Sets Shared Owner Rent Rises at around 14.6%
At the end of August we joined an alliance of housing campaign groups and activists to demand that tenants are protected against evictions during the pandemic. We also demand that housing associations waive rents and service charges even after lockdown for those who can show that they have suffered economically as a result of Covid-19.… Continue reading No Evictions: Making A Demand on Our Politicians
Campaigners from various housing pressure groups, tenants, residents, and housing workers assembled in front of the iconic Royal Courts of Justice to protest on Sunday 23rd August, originally planned as the final day of the eviction ban. Their anti-eviction protest went ahead despite an eleventh-hour extension of the eviction ban - a stay of execution… Continue reading Campaigners vow “We’ll be back when courts reopen!”
