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Anti-eviction activists stage protest outside home of landlord

It’s being reported that a so-called ‘rental union’ group of activists has staged a protest outside a landlord’s own home.

Acorn - a group that in the past has held demonstrations inside lettings agents’ offices - has protested outside the London home of a landlord who owns an investment property in Bristol.

The landlord is allegedly seeking to evict two tenants from the Bristol property; the tenants - according to Acorn - received their eviction notice after complaining about damp in the property. 

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There is no independent verification of the timing of the notice in relation to the complaint, nor whether there was any connection between the two.

One of the tenants, quoted in the Morning Star newspaper, says: “All we want is for [the landlord] to meet with us and see that we are human beings whose mental and physical health have taken a toll due to her treatment, compensation for the time I couldn’t sleep in my own bed, and to not be evicted in the middle of a pandemic.”

The newspaper claims the tenant describes her accommodation as “unliveable” during lockdown because of the damp, but complaints were either “ignored or made fun of.”

Acorn claims there has been a “huge increase” in Section 21 notices since the government’s temporary ban on evictions came to an end in September and is campaigning to scrap them.

On Twitter the protest group showed seven masked protesters with their fists clenched outside a property. 

The group’s many tweets on the subject included one threatening: “Unless she [the landlord] agrees to meet with us to discuss our demands, and with a fast-developing London Acorn group becoming active, this will not be the last she hears from us.” 

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

  • George Dawes

    Twitter ?

    That awful platform is best avoided if you want to retain a smidgen of sanity

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    I assume the property was okay when they moved in, if not then why did they take a tenancy there, so the property has become damp since they moved in which sounds like it's caused by the way they live, no mention of if they are up to date with their rent, probably a lot more to this than they are letting on.

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    Yip, it’s always damp, never drying clothes on rads or not ventilating.

     
  •  G romit

    Rent-a-mob taking the law into their own hands. And the authorities did.........

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    Because we’re landlords. It’s now lots of rules for us and none for them.

     
  • PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    The Landlord in question should Contact us.

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    I hope she called the police to claim intimidation and harassment. Y’know, the way these tenants might if they felt for one second the landlord had stepped out of line.

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    The Morning Star !

  • Kristjan Byfield

    If these claims are valid then this is shocking treatment- but why not simply report this to Environmental Health at the local council and have them deal with the issues? ACORN tactics turning up and bombarding agents offices is bad enough but turning up outside a landlords address is disgusting behaviour and should be treated as threatening. If these claims are valid (and others they champion) why not fund legally tackling the matter? Surely helping the victim(s) seek legal retribution- helping them understand their rights and pay to enforce them- is the proper way to address this no?

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    I have had the same flats back , either almost pristine with no damp or mould, or with a lot of damp and mould. Same flats - different tenants - no remedial action needed in the property other than cleaning up the mess after tenants left.

    Damp and mould are issues are usually due to lack of proper ventilation caused by not opening the window and drying clothes inside.

    It's very rarely a problem with the property or the fault of the landlord.

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    I had damp issues with an old house, however new tenants 4 yrs ago, 2 middle aged men, when ever I drive past, come rain or shine, summer or winter the bedroom windows are always open during the day, result ? no damp issues for the past 4 yrs.

     
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    • 27 October 2020 11:07 AM

    With most mortgaged properties there is a fiduciary duty imposed on the LL to keep the property in good order.

    Tenants who refuse to live properly should be warned that failing to use heating is a breach of the tenancy and they will be evicted.
    Air in a property should ideally be renewed once per day any time of the year.

    Vapour build up is the biggest cause of mould and damp NOT constructional defects.

    LL naturally wish for the internal fabric of their properties to remain in good order.
    If tenants cannot afford to achieve this or refuse to live a lifestyle that doesn't damage a property then LL wouldn't really want them as tenants.

    It costs a lot of money to make good a property damaged by poor lifestyle.
    Money that a LL will never be able to recover.

    Potentially lots of these sort of properties will be removed from rental stock as EPC C status gets ever nearer to being required.

    At least then these tenants won't have a a property that they caused to deteriorate as being available to rent

    Of course a park bench will be damper as more properties are removed from rental stock that can't achieve EPC C status.

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    If the property is unliveable why does the tenant want to stay?

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