Demanding a fair deal for renters in Haringey

Siobhan Donnachie from Haringey London
Renters Union on what the campaign group is demanding of local election candidates
By Siobhan Donnachie

Haringey London Renters Union group campaigning in Wood Green (credit Sara Chitsek)

We recently hand-delivered a letter to current Haringey Council leader Peray Ahmet asking the local authority to commit to our housing demands.

Haringey London Renters Union (LRU) has supported hundreds of renters in Haringey and elsewhere through legal advocacy, eviction resistance, landlord negotiation and media pressure.

Haringey LRU represents approximately 500 renters in the borough, with the wider London group haivng 5,000 members across the capital. Members live in private, social and temporary accommodation, and are all desperate for transformative change in their housing. We are all asking councillors and election candidates to promise to stand with renters in next month’s local election.

After decades of a housing crisis, now culminating in an acute housing emergency, renters in Haringey want their voices heard and for the council to promise local change. Haringey has one of the highest eviction rates in the country; in 2021, 357 households faced repossession claims despite an eviction ban, and Haringey has the third-highest rate of people living in temporary accommodation in London.

At Haringey LRU group we are asking councillors to commit to delivering on five core demands: homes for people not profit; hold landlords accountable; stop gentrification and bring the rents down; more accessible housing and support; and no borders in housing.

Councillors in the last election pledged a radical reshaping of the council’s approach to housing, in exchange for support of votes. Thankfully, the contentious Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) was scrapped and the demolition of social housing was slowed. However, residents are yet to see the transformations they were promised in 2018 and are desperate for councillors to again pledge change, and more importantly follow through on this.

The emergency in housing is being experienced all over the borough; from severe disrepair issues, and skyrocketing rents, to harassment and negligence from landlords. It’s time for councillors to listen to the community they are representing and commit to delivering on these demands.

In the lead up to the election on 5th May, Haringey LRU will be pushing forward with its campaign, and will encourage all renters to join and use their resources to lobby their local councillors for change

For information on the Haringey LRU demands and how to get involved:

Facebook /HaringeyLRU

Twitter @HaringeyLru

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