Activists from the Acorn campaign are pressing a council to get tough on landlords.

Acorn has waged anti-landlord and anti-letting agent campaigns in recent months in different parts of the country, including protests outside landlords’ homes and an incident at a Home Counties agency in which two activists were arrested. 

Now a representative of the group has addressed the Labour-controlled council in Sheffield and according to the Sheffield Star news outlet, the activists demand a city-wide licensing regime.

The paper quotes one addressing councillors and saying: “Since 2016, Acorn has been campaigning for citywide landlord licensing to ban the worst landlords from renting in our city. Since then our union has been growing ever stronger, as we speak we are fighting more and more cases against rogue landlords than ever before.

“We believe this is a crisis that demands urgent action. We have seen landlords refusing to repair homes overrun with mould, stealing deposits, serving revenge evictions so we are asking now that the council commit to introducing citywide landlord licensing.”

The councillor responsible for housing in Sheffield, Paul Wood, is quoted as responding: “The council takes the private rented sector landlords and the quality of the housing very seriously. We are committed to ensuring the highest standards across the city. Not only in the private sector but also in the public sector as well.

“Be assured that within the powers and resources we have at the moment we are increasing the monitoring of the private rented sector and we will continue to do that and work towards getting what you are looking for.”