Brighton lettings agency G4Lets is facing a growing campaign by two groups of tenants organising with Brighton SolFed for the return of their deposits and for compensation after they lived in damp, mice-infested accommodation for a year, and were subsequently charged for pre-existing damage at the properties when they requested the return of their deposits. Both sets of tenants were students at the time of their tenancies.
Manchester Solfed's guide for migrants coming to Manchester has been republished with a updated edition for November 2017.
The guide contains information to help new migrants settle in the city. While focusing on Manchester, much of the guide will be useful to people living anywhere in the UK.
Available in English and Spanish, the guide can be downloaded in pdf format from the links below, paper copies will also be distributed around the city.
We are currently working on a translation into Portugese and we are producing a version for smartphones.
The Migrants Guide is a work in progress and we welcome submissions and suggestions. Please contact the Manchester local if you have anything to contribute.
Don't forget next Saturday, December 2nd the Manchester & Salford Anarchist Bookfair will be taking place. As well as book stalls there will be number of talks taking place on a wide range of subjects. In the evening there will be social with several bands appearing.
Manchester SF will be doing a talk on 21st Century Anarcho-Syndicalism
Brighton Solidarity Federation has started a dispute with the lettings agency G4Lets on Hythe Road in Fiveways. Two sets of tenants have been organising with SolFed regarding a number of issues with their tenancies. The first group of tenants had to live in mice-infested, unsafe accommodation for a year, and then had £2000 illegitimately deducted from their deposit. The second group of tenants have had £1080 deducted from their deposit for similarly dubious reasons.
Three groups of tenants organising with Brighton Solidarity Federation Housing Union over the past three months have each secured victories in their disputes. Working with our Housing Union, these tenants used the everyday tactics of solidarity and mutual support to take direct action – to win back stolen cash and to improve their conditions.
The first dispute was a group of tenants whose landlord and lettings agencies had left them living in damp, infested accommodation for a year. The landlord switched agencies half way through the tenancy, though both failed to address the problems in the house. After a direct action campaign, the landlord and the two agencies paid out £3900 in relation to the damp issue. Together with the tenancy deposit the campaign had demanded to be returned in full, the six tenants received just over £6000 as a result of the campaign.
Brighton Solidarity Federation has started a dispute with The Property Shop on St James's Street. A tenant has been organising with SolFed after they were charged for repairs that the landlord was obligated to carry out.
Along with the tenant, Brighton SolFed wrote to The Property Shop on 18th October, explaining the issues and outlining options for redress. The Property Shop requested an extension on the one week deadline for a response, which Brighton SolFed granted, but The Property Shop still did not respond within that timeframe.
Cleaners have a vital role in society, yet their job is poorly paid and routinely dismissed as a job carried out mainly by women to earn a bit of extra cash; cleaning is not generally seen as a particularly physically hard or dangerous job, many people see it as involving a bit of dusting, mopping and hoovering.
CN: Sexual assault
Brighton Solfed have taken a collective decision to permanently exclude a member due to allegations of sexual assault made against them. The member was formally suspended at the end of April, after we were informed that they had been excluded from two other groups, and since then attempts were made to try and start a process whereby this member could be held accountable for their actions. However, due to the survivors’ wishes for space and privacy, this was not possible in any transformative sense without going against the survivors’ autonomy.
In light of this, the Brighton local of Solidarity Federation has taken the decision to permanently exclude the member from the group. Our reasons for this are:
My partner Joshua Mcrae is one of those prisoners still serving an IPP sentence. Joshua was just 17 at the time of his alleged offence and 18 when tried as an adult and given a tariff of 4 years.Joshua has spent 11 years in prison so far....
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