housing dispute

Dispute against YPP lettings closed

Our dispute against YPP Lettings has been closed after the tenant accepted an improved offer, a reduction in rent of 22% (or £660). The letting agency made an offer before any direct action was needed, although we had declared our intent to undertake such action.

Liverpool Solidarity Federation was contacted by a tenant of Gravity Residence. Due to the pandemic she had to move back to her family home, leaving behind all her belongings in the apartment. Since then, she had tried to reach a sensible agreement with YPP to finish her tenancy earlier. The YPP position was unreasonable, they offered a shameful 5% deduction from her total amount if she paid all the amount by the beginning of April.

Manchester SolFed organised our fourth picket in support of six Brighton tenants

On Saturday 19th January Manchester SolFed organised our fourth picket in support of six Brighton tenants. We picketed the Skipton Building society branch on Market Street in the centre of Manchester. Brighton SolFed’s public campaign against Fox & Sons has now been extended to their parent company, Skipton Building Society. With Fox & Sons still refusing to compensate the six tenants whose tenancy they cancelled five days after it was supposed to start, leaving them with nowhere to live, Brighton SF contacted David Cutter, the chief executive of Skipton, and Gary Morton of their lettings branch Connells, to demand that they resolve the issue. Both Mr Cutter and Mr Morton refused to do so, meaning that Brighton SF on  Saturday 19th January extended the campaign to pickets of Skipton branches across the country. 

Manchester SolFed Organises a Further Picket in Support of 6 Brighton Tenants

On Saturday 12th Jan Manchester SolFed picketed Skipton Building Society in support of 6 Brighton tenants. The tenants have been organising with Brighton SolFed after being treated appallingly by the Brighton letting agency, Fox and Sons. The company,  Fox and Sons, is owned by the Connells group,  one of the largest estate agency and property services providers in the UK, which last year made £104.2m in profits. In turn, the Connells group is owned by the ever so friendly - we do not have shareholders - Skipton Building Society. Saturday's picket was part of an escalation of the dispute with pickets taking place in Bristol, Manchester and Brighton in support of the 6 tenants
For more information on the dispute see our previous post or go to http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/

Unsecure Lettings

Liverpool Solidarity Federation concluded its dispute with Secure Lettings. The dispute ended positively with the three tenants involved receiving the whole deposit back and a compensation due to the damp and mold issues during the tenancy.

Brighton Solidarity Federation opens a dispute with Fox & Sons

Brighton Solidarity Federation has started a dispute with Fox & Sons, a large estate agency with branches across Brighton. Along with six student tenants, Brighton SolFed wrote to Fox & Sons on November 3rd, demanding that they pay compensation to the tenants, who were told five days after the day they were meant to move in to a property that it had been withdrawn, leaving them with nowhere to live. Fox and Sons’ employees offered no help finding an alternative property, other than suggesting one over the students’ budget. They didn't communicate properly with the tenants, telling them that the property would be ready to move into by early September, which it wasn’t.