Over the last decade, we have participated in hundreds of meetings, investing our time, energy, and money in the fight for our basic rights. We attempted to collaborate with Newham Council by developing our community plan and setting up a co-production Steering Group. We waged a determined battle to rid ourselves of MEARs, the outsourced landlord that charged high rents for living in disrepair. Although we successfully compelled Newham Council to transfer the management back to its own hands, our unsafe living conditions and uncertainty continues. Despite winning investments for our homes following a petition from over 90% of residents, our housing issues persist, as the root causes are often ignored and we are left in the uncertainty and insecurity of temporary tenancies. Our physical and mental health has suffered from the stress of insecure tenancies, living in unsafe homes and the closure of community spaces and high streets. Many among us, including our children, have been left disabled or chronically ill due to these living conditions. Each morning brings the uncertainty of receiving a letter that could uproot us and place us in another temporary property outside the area. We face the threat of eviction if we refuse these offers and want to stay in our homes and community. Given these exceptional circumstances, we are asking Rokhsana Fiaz (Mayor of Newham), Darren Levy (Director of Housing), and Donna Morelli (Assistant Director of Housing) to use their authority and exercise discretion. The urgency of our situation cannot wait any longer for the regeneration. We need them to facilitate the transfer of all our temporary council tenancies to permanent, secure council tenancies. We need your support to get them to listen. Please show your solidarity by signing this petition and spreading the word. We all deserve a safe and permanent home. #PermanentSafeHomesNow #KeepOurCommunityTogether See full demands here: https://bit.ly/PEACH-demands

Students are facing financial struggles and feel exploited by Unite Students in Joseph Stones accommodation. Considering the substantial amount we are paying, the return on our investment appears to be disproportionately low. This raises questions about the allocation of our funds and prompts us to inquire where exactly our money is being utilised.

New laws are being developed that are meant to give renters in England better rights, but they only protect renters for SIX MONTHS before a landlord can decide to sell their house or move in, and if that happens, renters will only be given a measly eight weeks to find a new home. We all deserve to be secure in our homes, and at a time when the number of rental homes are at an all-time low, this isn’t good enough. [1] The Government originally said that renters should be given two years of protection, but have since backtracked. [2] This means that despite claiming that “no-fault” evictions will be abolished, landlords will still be able to throw renters out of their home if they decide to sell up or move in themselves. [3] These laws are being debated right now, so if enough of us come together to demand stronger protections from eviction, they’ll be forced to listen. Six months is NOT enough time to make a house a home before being at risk of losing it: sign and share the petition today to demand renters get a secure home! [1] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tenancy-reform-renters-reform-bill https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67543835 [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-deal-for-renting-resetting-the-balance-of-rights-and-responsibilities-between-landlords-and-tenants [the original proposal can be found in paragraphs 3.16-3.19 of the consultation response] [3] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-the-renters-reform-bill

Make sure we keep our parcels safe and correctly delivered to our flats. No more missing parcels!

The Keepmoat development in the Central Park area of Darlington is a consistent issue for residents. The residents of Central Park have had to put with years of delays from Keepmoat. They deserve to live in an area that is continuously used as a building site. Ensure the roads are of a high standard in which the Council can take ownership, creating a paved area at John Dixon Lane/John Williams Boulevard and the promised bus gate, and ensuring all construction has ended.

It's important because there are a lot of families displaced or living far from where they work because they can't afford housing in popular tourist areas which are also their home villages and where their families live

We implore you to join us in our campaign as we believe that adequate housing is a basic human right. Many asylum seekers have fled from persecution and violence, experiencing extreme trauma in the process of being displaced from their original homes. It is vital that they get support and the human right to the safety of their own home.

The Lifetime ISA is turning into a financial trap for young people. Currently the savings and bonus can only be used to buy a property up to the value of £450,000. However the average house price for first time buyers in London and the South East is at least £500,000. This property value cap even applies to buying a small proportion of a property on a shared ownership scheme. This means that to buy a home the government will charge you a penalty fee of 25% to withdraw your money as your house does not qualify for the deal. (In real terms, this works out at way above the 25% bonus that is paid and eats into your original savings. Which is a situation I now face. I am set to lose money on the very little I have managed to pull together.) In the midst of a cost of living and housing crisis this is completely unacceptable. The treasury is currently profiting from people struggling to save and get a foot on the property ladder with an ill-designed financial product. This limit should be reviewed immediately to ensure that people can use the bonus towards their first homes. Or the treasury should consider waiving the penalty for anyone in the London area who wants to buy a first home. Going forward the threshold should be regularly reviewed in line with increases in the housing market. This is the absolute minimum that the government should consider reviewing to support people to get on the housing ladder. It means that even schemes like shared ownership are inaccessible for people like me in the south of England. We are in the midst of a cost of living and housing crisis. The treasury is currently profiting from people struggling to save and get a foot on the property ladder with an ill-designed financial product. The government is unwilling to provide adequate social and affordable housing, or consider rent caps. If private ownership is the only way we the majority of the population is able to access housing reviewing this product is the absolute minimum that the government should consider. Even schemes like shared ownership are inaccessible for people like me in the south of England. The Lifetime ISA is meant to help young people get somewhere. But instead I’m now financially trapped.

I have lived with mould in my flat since I moved in. It seeped through the roof into my bedroom meaning I’ve not been able to use the top of my wardrobe for fear of my clothes getting damp and ruined. I managed to speak to the previous tenant and he had experienced the same problem. The landlord and letting agents consistently denied the mould was because of a fault to the property. The source of the mould was condensation from the roof tiles caused by a lack of proper, basic insulation. Since the tragic death of Awaab Ishak was confirmed to be due to prolonged exposure to mould a few months ago [1] renters like me have felt more anxious than ever about the potential consequences of mould harming our health. 11% of private rented homes have some form of damp (including mould) in them according to the 2022 English Housing Survey. [2] Thousands of renters have to live with the threat of mould ruining their home but also ruining their lives. According to a Survation poll, 37% of private renters experienced damp and mould in the previous 5 years. [3] Many things cause mould, including leaks, rising damp and poor insulation, but too often landlords dismiss complaints and blame tenants. Renters shouldn’t have to pay for the negligence of landlords and the Housing Secretary Michael Gove wants to change the system [4] It’s currently not possible to get legal aid for compensation for disrepair: whether for the inconvenience of living in those conditions or if your health has been damaged by your landlord’s actions. And when tenants can get legal support, proposed changes this year to cap legal fees that negligent landlords have to pay will discourage lawyers from taking on complicated housing cases – as problems with mould usually are. It is only right that renters be able to sue their landlords for damaging their health when they have failed to repair the homes they are making money from. By extending legal aid to cover damages claims and exempting housing cases from the new legal fee rules, the government would make it easier for renters to take action. If failure to keep homes in good condition is more likely to result in legal action, then landlords will respond more quickly to complaints and make sure their properties are safe to live in in the first place. So please sign this petition today so that we can tell the Justice Secretary that renters deserve to live in homes that don’t threaten their health and that landlords have to be held accountable. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/15/death-of-two-year-old-awaab-ishak-chronic-mould-in-flat-a-defining-moment-says-coroner [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2021-to-2022-headline-report/english-housing-survey-2021-to-2022-headline-report [3] https://www.generationrent.org/survation_april_2021 [4] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/michael-gove-homes-unsafe-rochdale-black-mould-inquest-b1042263.html

The Chartered Institute of Housing is seeking to host a lavish £250 plus VAT Presidents dinner at the very time NO ONE has been held to account for the tragic loss of Baby Telan Stone 11 months and Awark Ishak , this is in truly poor taste at a time in which families have had NO justice, thousands live in homes not fit for purpose whilst its leaders seek to hold a lavish jolly whilst claiming zero funds for repairs whilst Food Banks like We Care is facing closure because Energy and Food hikes mean it needs to raise £25,000 to open and serve its 3000 people and pets in crisis in 2023. This Event should be cancelled and cash saved investing in local food projects and improving tenant's homes. Across the UK in 2022 young children and babies have died in Social Housing the very sort of housing those most in need depend on and expect decent housing, holding a lavish dinner at a time Social Housing is under such huge and justifiable scrutiny is totally and morale wrong and should NOT go ahead

Like many people living in London, I've had to change my plans and delay life decisions in response to the obscene prices in the capital’s rental market. I’m so outraged by how much letting agents are charging, one of my tweets about it became a story in the Times. [1] But for one chain of estate agents, apparently even excessive rents are not enough. After looking at some of Foxtons’ adverts, I noticed that just to rub salt in the wound, they are also charging some tenants fees of £250 per person that were supposed to have been banned three years ago. [2] In 2019 the Tenant Fees Act banned landlords and letting agents from charging almost all fees to private renters. The only permitted payments are rent, refundable deposits and fees incurred due to the tenant’s actions, such as losing keys, paying rent late, or ending the tenancy early. Foxtons claims that it charges the £250 fee when the tenancy is a “short let”. [3] On 14 November, Foxtons was advertising 614 of these in London. However, unless short lets are specifically for holidays, they are classed as assured shorthold tenancies in the Housing Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 9) and are therefore subject to the letting fees ban. [4] Foxtons describes short lets on its website as "from a few weeks to a few months". [5] By claiming they are not assured shorthold tenancies, the company is abusing the Tenant Fees Act – legislation renters fought hard to secure. Foxtons are profiteering from these illegal fees. And by keeping homes in the short term market and out of the longer term market, there are fewer homes for the people who need them most, and higher rents on the homes that do become available. Foxtons needs to stop ripping off renters and be clear that these illegal fees are unacceptable and will not be charged. [1] https://twitter.com/feedthedrummer/status/1587785056545918977 [2] https://www.foxtons.co.uk/let/fees_and_terms [3] https://twitter.com/foxtons/status/1585569745750970369 [4] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922896/Tenancy_Fees_Act_-_Statutory_guidance_for_enforcement_authorities.pdf [5] https://www.foxtons.co.uk/landlord/short-lets

Cornwall cannot afford to serve as a satellite town for London anymore. Historically, we have utilized large Council Estates and housing for this purpose. Today, in 2022, Cornwall is facing a housing crisis, with residents receiving 33% less pay than the national average for services. Recent mortality rates from our primary hospital, Treliske, and Southwest Ambulance services have been alarmingly high. The region is experiencing long wait times, staff shortages, and limited facilities to accommodate the expanding population. In light of these challenges, how can Livewest justify this current situation?