In 2017 Bristol City Council announced plans to scrap the Council Tax Reduction benefit and so force the 25,000 poorest households in Bristol to pay council tax. 

Faced with a drastically reduced budget due to brutal Conservative cuts, Labour Mayor Marvin Rees proposed to make up the difference with a policy that would have seen those on the lowest incomes have to find on average between £350-600 per year and face aggressive bailiffs and potentially even a jail sentence. This would have led to people prioritising this viciously regressive tax over essentials such as paying their rent and providing for their families. 

Within a few months of launching and beginning to organiser private tenants ACORN Bristol got the message loud and clear that we needed structural change as well as the direct action around evictions and living conditions that we were quickly becoming known for. The problem was, at that point we were a small community group in a single neighbourhood. 

Responding to the demands of Bristol renters organised by ACORN and the overall housing crisis facing the city, we were invited by Mayor Marvin Rees to partner with the Council in the delivery of these historic renters forums and help shape local housing policy.