A Cornish housing association has halted its policy of pulling up perfectly good carpets prior to new occupancy, leading to some residents being left living with concrete floors in their homes.
In October, ACORN Falmouth & Penryn launched the ‘Carpets not Concrete’ campaign, demanding that housing association, LiveWest:
- Ensure that the final decision to keep or remove carpets is always made by the incoming tenant at the beginning of a new tenancy.
- Scrap fines for outgoing tenants who do not remove their carpets at the end of their tenancy.
- Provide evidence of a clear communication to inform tenants of this policy change
- Fully compensate ACORN member Sarah for the £1,420 that she & her family spent replacing perfectly usable carpets.
Just before Christmas, ACORN members staged a sit-in at LiveWest offices asking to speak to their CEO, Paul Crawford, and deliver our campaign demands alongside testimony from Sarah.
Fast forward to mid-January, and ACORN members met with representatives from LiveWest to discuss our demands.
In the meeting, LiveWest agreed to:
- Pilot a scheme in Cornwall to keep ALL suitable carpets at the end of the tenancy
- To get rid of fines for tenants who fail to remove them
- To change all their online communications and staff guidance to ensure that the final decision on carpets is based on genuine health and safety risks, NOT the discretion of LiveWest staff
- Compensation for Sarah for the lino floor that she had to remove and replace
This great news, not just for Sarah but for LiveWest tenants across Cornwall. If you want to be part of our movement and see real positive change, join ACORN today!