SHAC Article:

Service Charge Abuse: Audit Office Validates SHAC Risk Evidence and Campaigners Win Landmark Ruling

Political Lobbying: The National Audit Office wrote to SHAC finally acknowledging severe limitations in regulatory oversight having reviewed SHAC research on inflated landlord fees. It has since raised its concerns with government officials about the drain on public funds. This shifts the focus of service charge disputes from private conflicts to broader, systemic risks impacting taxpayers and is thus a major step forward. Read the letter here.

Action: As a result, we have requested a meeting with Housing Secretary Steve Reed and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook. We also asked the Public Accounts and Housing Select Committees to launch inquiries. The latter has already declined but we will keep pressing.

Residents v NHG Win: Concurrently, an Upper Tribunal ruling established a legal precedent against forcing residents to pay for inaccessible communal facilities, strengthening the ability of tenants to challenge arbitrary billing. Because this was in the Upper Tribunal, it has the effect of creating new legislation which other tenants and residents can benefit from. The campaigners have shared the judgement and a slide pack on how to organise.

See the article, judgement, and other resources here.

ESCA Parliamentary Petition:

And ... with a new Prime Minister plus these important developments, our Parliamentary petition now stands a much better chance of making an impact. With enough signatures, it will be debated in Parliament. But this means we all need to put our shoulders to the wheel. Please sign, like, share and most importantly, keep nudging people.

Our petition is at 772 signatures, but with your help, we can get many, many more. Sign here, like and share here:

Instagram | Bluesky | Twitter | Facebook



SHAC Article: A Community Under Threat: Southwark Families Fight Mass Evictions

Corporate landlord BMR Group Ltd is targeting more than 100 families on the St James Estate in Southwark with mass evictions and monthly rent hikes between £250 and £900. BMR bought the estate from housing association Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) in 2025.

Now, residents have formed a Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) to fight back, and oppose the conversion of their homes into short-term mulitple occupancy lets.

Tenants and residents are being supported by SHAC and others, and are demanding that Southwark Council investigates BMR, rejects its HMO licence application, blacklist the firm, and explores bringing the estate into public ownership. Read more here.

Please like and share:

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SHAC Article: A Pensioner's Fight Against Housing Injustice

June Atkinson describes her experience of being evicted at 72 years old. She suffered the emotional and physical toll of systemic housing insecurity after being served with a retaliatory 'no-fault' eviction for refusing an unlawful request to pay for repairs. The landlord exploited Section 173 of the 2016 Housing Act (Wales), which rebranded rather than abolished no-fault evictions. June is now in a permanent home, but is keen to build a support network for tenants and residents in Wales. Read more here.

Please like and share:

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Shared Ownership:

Letter to the Housing Minister

At the end of June, we wrote to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about making shared ownership fairer. We argued that the current scheme financially exploits tenants whilst allowing landlords to maximise profits.

Our recommendations include establishing a dedicated Shared Ownership Act and introducing stricter regulation that withholds public funding from underperforming landlords. We also want any improvements to apply retrospectively to all existing leases. See the full letter here (wrongly dated for May, it was sent in June).

New SHAC Supported Protest:

Friday 14th August at 1pm

Clarion Head Office, Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7QX (map)

Our member Victor has had enough - enough of Clarion's mistreatment and failure to address a whole host of problems. This includes an uninsulated home with extreme heat and cold that make it impossible to properly store food and essential medicines. All of his appeals to Clarion have been ignored.

Now Victor is inviting SHAC members from all landlords to join him at a protest outside Clarion's head office. If you are able to support him, please contact Victor at housingjusticeuk@gmail.com.

Next SHAC Monthly Meeting

Our regular monthly meetings provide an opportunity to hear updates on our campaigning and action, and to share any actions you are taking to hold your landlord to account.

Please join us for the next meeting:

6.30pm, Thursday 20th August

Zoom link - passcode 459809

Add the date to your calendar here. You can find details of all SHAC events here.