Renters’ rights activists launch bid to beef up reform bill
Acorn members took to the streets over the weekend in 30 cities to urge members of public to write to their MP and urge that the Renters' Rights Bill is strengthened.
Renters’ rights group Acorn has launched a campaign to persuade MPs to make the Government’s looming Renters’ Rights Bill crack down on agents and landlords even harder.
The organisation took to the streets in 30 cities across the UK over the weekend urging people to send a letter to their local MP.
Publicity material for the initiative says that while the Renters’ Rights Bill in its current form “is a great start…if it’s going to deliver the change we really need it must be made stronger! Email your MP to fight for amendments to the Bill!”
The pre-written letter Acorn has prepared asks for five more measures to be added to the Bill. These include removing barriers to landlord licensing, ending illegal evictions, taking renting affordable, capping rent in advance and giving tenants a right to withhold rent for serious disrepair.
Letting agency ‘sit-in’
The letter also urges MPs to write or talk to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, or speak up at Report Stage in support of including Acorn’s provisions within the bill.
The organisations also revealed over the weekend that members of its Brighton branch had forced a letting agency to complete repairs on a house after staging a ‘sit in’ at the firm’s offices.
Acorn, which has been ramping up its ‘direct’ action activity in recent months as the Renters’ Rights Bill has entered parliament, also said it had disrupted a council meeting in Hackney to persuade the London borough to complete repairs at a council block.
It also launched a Halloween-themed campaign telling renters to ‘scare your landlord… join Acorn”.
Picture credit: Acorn.
ANd they wonder why the good Landlords are selling up and the rents continue to rise – and the bad landlords and bad tenants will still be here.
Four years ago I wrote to our Labour Welsh Assembly Member warning her that the anti Landlord policy of her Government would simply drive many Landlords out of the market
I informed her many Landlords were private investors like me, looking for an income to fund retirement.
I asked my elected member if she thought that I, as a private Landlord had a duty to provide subsidised homes for tenants, as that effectively is what she and most Labour politicians and tenants seemed to demand.
She did not respond!
More important for her and tenants, as anticipated, large numbers of landlords sold up, to look for a more benign home for their investment, “The Law of Unintended Consequences” kicked in!
Tenants, instead of having a wide choice of homes to rent, suddenly found that the supply had dried up!
And what happens when supply reduces and demand increases?
Something Labour politicians can’t understand
“The Law of Supply & Demand” now kicks in!
Tenants cannot find homes AND rents rise as tenants compete for a dwindling supply.
So who has lost?
The Tenants of course!
Private Landlords ARE NOT SOCIAL LANDLORDS, but they are being labelled by politicians as social pariahs
I have almost sold up with just two properties left with 2 excellent long term tenants
When they decide to leave,I will be completely out, just as Landlord hating Socialists want.
But will Labour explain how they will provide and fund all the new Social housing needed to replace the Private Landlord?
These are the lot that were demonstrating a couple of weeks ago for the TSB to give longer fixed term tenancies when the bill they are supporting is doing away with fixed term tenancies. Problem they have is they are driving the good landlords out of the PSR the ones who really look after their good long term tenants and the bad landlords like the bad tenants will still remain under the radar.
So they want to bring legislation and rules in that will stop a landlord giving them a house in the first place-Why would u want to do that?
My tenants 6 year old kids know Selective Licensing has made rent more expensive for their Mum that didn’t have a problem with house pre licensing and has now got worse cause Council had the new kitchen money to pay for Licensing.
Making rent affordable and capping rent? Ok Mr Mrs Landlord Landlady we know u can invest your £150,000 in that bank and have zero hassle and not go prison if tenant takes battery out smoke alarm, but we’d like u to buy us a house (u don’t know us, we not your mate or family), u going to make less than the bank, u going to be subject to 170+ rules and you NEVER having your money back.
Aah right Acorn that should work shun’t it-Sign me up now. Eh and I’ve bought over my 27 years of being Nottingham’s biggest private provider to Benefit tenants, about 30 to 40 houses JUST FOR TENANTS WHERE THEY HAVE FOUND THE HOUSE, where they’d like to live. Why did I do that? Cause the numbers added up.
Would I do it in 2024? Yes course I would just for u, we’ve all won the Euro Millions u know and can afford to give it away. We didn’t slave for years at a loss to make it back up 15 years later. Let’s all sign up to Acorn and get some subsidised housing off Mrs Marples.