Fresh from our victory over TSB we started to look at what other banks were up to. In the Autumn of 2018 a news story broke, revealing NatWest had the same discriminatory mortgage terms as TSB, but this time they were actively forcing landlords to evict tenants claiming housing benefit.
ACORN members voted to take action once again and put together a national coalition with Living Rent and London Renter union. Hundreds renters protested and occupied banks in Bristol, Sheffield, Manchester Newcastle, Brighton, Glasgow, and London, once again forcing a major banks to drop its discriminatory policies. NatWest declared that they would lift all restrictions on landlords renting to tenants who are in receipt of housing benefits and extending the maximum length of time of assured shorthold tenancy from 12 months to 36 months, which allows landlords to offer tenants the security of longer tenancies.”
This was a huge win for tenants and for benefit claimants, with the policy change being extended to all UK branches within the RBS group (including NatWest, RBS, & Ulster Bank) and the third major bank that ACORN has taken on and forced to change policies in the last couple of years. This is what ordinary people can do when we come together to take direct action to better our lives.
You can read more about this story in the following press articles: