🥳 On Monday, ACORN Leeds will be turning one. What a year it has been! 🥳
We've won countless cases defending tenants across Leeds, developed a vital support system for our community with our Coronavirus Community Support Network and gained over 180 members in the process 🔥
However, we need to keep on fighting for what's right. Next month, the government is set to lift the temporary ban on evictions we won. This will be a disastrous move for tenants, many of whom are struggling to pay rent or have lost income as a direct result of the crisis.
We are predicting a spike in evictions once this ban lifted, potentially leaving thousands without a roof over their head in the midst of a global pandemic. So, this Monday 25th May, on our birthday, we'll be holding a Day of Action, one month before the ban is lifted.
So stand with us and say NO to homelessness & rent debt during Coronavirus! Get creative - make a placard, drop a banner, wear red or stage a mini protest with your housemates and post your photos using the hashtag #HousingIsHealth. Let's fight for renter's rights ✊
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🚨 Don't let Pemberstone kick residents out of their homes - donate to the legal fund now! justgiving.com/crowdfunding/s… ✊
Our friends in @SaveOurHomeLS26 are raising funds to fight their landlord Pemberstone's appeal of the hard-won council decision to not demolish their homes. The date of the appeal is closing in on the 6th October - and they need cash urgently to pay legal costs 📢
Pemberstone is a private investment firm with immense wealth at their disposal, but with people power the residents have stood up to their ruthless greed. It's been a hard fight: this tight-knit community is still stuck in limbo, fearing eviction threats in a health crisis 😷
🏆Over August and September, we've been winning big!
🚩 We've supported a member in LS7 to get released from her contract after tragic personal circumstances meant that she could no longer stay in the property. This meant she was no longer liable for £5000 worth of rent.
🚩 We've won an £814.13 rent waiver for an immunocompromised student forced to return home at the start of the pandemic in order to protect her health.
🚩 Most recently, we've helped our member Ashley to get £1076 worth of rent returned, after being forced to leave the property she had rented out after two days, finding it teeming with damp, freezing cold and completely unsuitable.
Landlords being able to evict people from their homes in a pandemic without having to provide a *single* reason is one of the causes of unstable economic and social terrain for millions of renters in the UK.
The pandemic makes it all the more imperative to act, not wait.
But the government’s endless procrastination over their pledge to end Section 21 evictions only serves to create an environment of uncertainty for renters while affluent landlords are able to continue filling their pockets.
We must keep on fighting to end to this cruel practice for good. The government has proven time and time again that they are not on our side, so we must come together to demand change. Join the union fighting for an end to Section 21 evictions today. ✊
ACORN Leeds is reaching out to tenants across the city who might have unknowingly experienced first-hand exploitation and over-charging by Glide energy suppliers.
Glide Utilities Limited have consciously ignored the Default Tariff Price Cap enforced by the UK government under the Domestic Gas and Electricity Act of 2018, by way of filling their own back-pockets.
Despite the restraints that the Act was supposed to place to prevent sky-high bills, once a new tenant has entered a full contract with Glide, they innocently sign up to the ‘Shield Tariff’, which is significantly more expensive than the going-tariff is capped at.⚠️
With the eviction ban now ended, it's estimated that 55,000 renters already served notice in the midst of the pandemic are at risk of eviction as court proceedings recommence. Many tens of thousands of more have fallen into arrears and fear homelessness 🚨 mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
Neither the Government or the courts will protect our communities from eviction. With the rules so ambiguous and stacked against us, we need to feel empowered with not only knowledge of our rights but be ready to join together and take collective action 📢
If you're worried about or facing eviction, the union has your back. Just as we campaigned to win concessions from the Government that stayed evictions, now we'll harness our collective power to defend our members and communities directly 🛡
@RobertJenrick and @BorisJohnson have failed to legislate to protect to renters from homelessness or help those who have accumulated rent debt as a result of this crisis.
With furlough coming to an end in October, and unemployment levels rapidly on the increase, if we do not act hundreds of thousands will be facing eviction. 🏡
So, we are taking matters into our own hands. We've been building an army of volunteers to resist evictions, with over 50 volunteers trained up in Community Protection in Leeds so far, and hundreds more across the country. ✊