ACORN member Craig has been living with terrible disrepair in his flat for years. Even the council got involved, issuing Craig’s landlord with a Repair Order.
However, it soon became clear that his landlord was going to ignore even this, so Craig joined ACORN and began to fight back.
We visited his landlord together and demanded they begin the work asap without turning Craig’s life upside down. We then mobilised over 100 members of the public to send in emails of complaint.
Disgracefully, the council told us they weren’t interested in implementing their “zero tolerance for rogue landlords” policy, and weren’t going to prosecute Craig’s landlord for ignoring the repair order.
So we occupied the Town Hall, refusing to leave until someone came to explain this decision. Although the council called the police on us and refused to talk, it paid off!
The council reviewed the case and agreed to begin the process of issuing a fine. This got Craig’s landlord to finally agree to set a date to begin repairs with Craig in situ. Another clear display of people power in action!