Unions, Green Party and housing groups unite for National Housing Demonstration

More than 50 organisations, including national trade unions, tenants’ unions and the Green Party, have announced the National Housing Demonstration in Central London on Saturday 18 April. They’re demanding urgent rent controls and a new generation of accessible council homes.

In what is set to be the largest coming-together of housing campaigners in a decade, thousands of tenants from across England and Wales are expected to take to the streets in protest of the government’s refusal to tackle runaway rents.

Major unions the National Education Union, Public and Commercial Services Union, Fire Brigades Union and others are joining forces with the Green Party, the London Renters Union, the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, Generation Rent and dozens of grassroots campaigns from across the country.

Housing developers first, tenants last

Asking rents for private tenants have risen by 44% since the pandemic, while social rents and service charges continue to climb. The consequences are stark.

Around one in three renters now struggle to afford essentials like food and heating. 330,000 households are currently facing homelessness. Many social tenants face above-inflation rent increases, while enduring unsafe conditions and years-long delays for repairs.

Despite the scale of the crisis, Keir Starmer’s government is prioritising private housing developers and institutional investors over working-class renters.

Instead of introducing rent controls or launching a serious programme of council housebuilding, ministers are focusing on market-rate developments. But these remain out of reach for those in greatest need and would fail to reverse recent price hikes.

The result is a system where working-class tenants are priced out and pushed into temporary housing while luxury flats rise in their neighbourhoods.

A united front on 18 April

On Saturday 18 April, tenants, trade unionists and housing activists will gather in central London to demand:

• Immediate rent controls.
• Mass investment in accessible and good-quality council homes.

Elyem Chej, spokesperson for London Renters Union, said:

Tenants need an alternative to our rigged housing system. Soaring rents are pushing us into poverty and out of our neighbourhoods while corporate giants build luxury flats we can’t afford.

Keir Starmer’s government is making the housing crisis worse, putting developer profits before our communities. That’s why unions and grassroots groups nationwide are uniting for housing justice on 18 April.

Rent controls would cut rents now and give ordinary people more control over our lives and our homes.

We had these rights before. Now it’s time for renters to take them back.

Grace Brown, spokesperson for Greater Manchester Tenants Union, said:

Tenants are in crisis. Areas of Greater Manchester have seen rents increase by more than 50% since 2016, and the developer-led investment model followed in our city, like many others, is hollowing out communities beyond recognition.

Across Greater Manchester, tenants are organising against estate demolition, against rent hikes and evictions. We demand justice for every tenant.

Martin Wicks, spokesperson for Defend Council Housing, said:

The government’s strategy of planning liberalisation and reliance on the large volume private builders is doomed to fail.

Home ownership is not an option for the more than 130,000 households in temporary accommodation, the 1.3 million households on the waiting lists, and many more imprisoned in the expensive and often poor quality private sector.

Social rent council housing is the key to resolving the housing crisis. The government needs to fund 100,000 social rent council homes a year and end Right to Buy. Market mechanisms will never resolve the housing crisis.

Featured image via the Canary