Councillors and election candidates in Lambeth have been challenged by ACORN to back a series of housing pledges ahead of the May local elections, with the published responses revealing clear divisions between the different parties.

The community union contacted candidates directly, asking them to support three key measures – including rent controls, zero tolerance for bad landlords and ending the use of bailiffs to collect council tax debt.

It has also produced a template email for residents to fill in and send to councillors, urging them to back the pledges.

Mixed response

The results show the Green Party, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and Shake It Up candidates, along with Independent Laura Graham, backed all three pledges.

No Liberal Democrat councillors responded, and most Labour councillors also failed to reply.

Among those Labour councillors who did respond, all supported rent controls – despite Housing Secretary Steve Reed ruling them out – as well as the call for tougher action on rogue landlords.

However, none backed ending the council’s use of bailiffs to collect council tax debt – although Brixton Buzz reports that councillors told ACORN that they don’t use bailiffs; they instead use ‘enforcement officers’.

Outrageous and almost medieval.”

ACORN has previously taken direct action on a number of housing issues in the borough, saying its campaigns are based on local casework involving rent increases, disrepair and long-running tenant complaints.

As part of its council tax campaign, spokesperson Paul Adams recently disrupted a Lambeth Town Hall meeting, calling the council’s enforcement action “outrageous and almost medieval”.