Private renters are much less likely to have their voices heard in elections than homeowners and other tenants. The high levels of insecurity, with tenants often facing eviction multiple times a year means that renters fall off the electoral register, especially with recent changes to the system or simply don’t bother to register because they may not be in the same area next time an election comes around.
With Britain’s housing crisis worsening all the time, we needed to make the 2017 General Election one where the voices of private renters were heard loud and clear. Members set up volunteer teams around the country, registering private renters, people in temporary or emergency accommodation, the ‘hidden homeless’, rough sleepers and anyone who was vulnerably housed. We teamed up with Generation Rent to also register people online meaning that thousands got to vote who otherwise wouldn’t have and developed a policy checker that was widely used to help voters make informed decisions at the polls.
