Peoples Commission and Public Enquiry committee and Hawkers Joint Action Committee jointly organized the third public hearing in Delhi. Today’s People’s Commission: Jyoti Laxmi (of Satat Sampad, many years of work with hawkers), Arun Mohan (film maker associated with Media Collective), Dr Seema Mathur (Ambedkarvadi Lekhak Sangh and professor at DU), Dr. Avinash Kumar (former Amnesty India Director and human rights writer), Rajendra Ravi (socialist thinker and activist associated with NAPM and People’s Resource Center)

NO MORE RENOVICTIONS: ORGANIZING WORKS!
A MASSIVE victory was won by ACORN members living in Manor Village, an affordable rental townhouse community in Nepean. After over two and a half years of tenant meetings, rallies, demonstrations, reports, press coverage, deputations, petitions, and lot’s of direct action, the Manor Village ACORN Tenants Union was able to force Smart Living Properties to withdraw their N13 evictions, allowing tenants to rightfully stay put within their affordable homes!

In a heartwarming turn of events, the 5th district town hall of Douala has heeded the calls of its residents, bringing hope and relief to the communities of Makepe 1 Missoke and Bepanda Yonyong. The tale begins with a critical bridge that stood as a lifeline between Makepe I Missoke and Bepanda, a connection that was shattered by the fury of intense rains in February 2020. The aftermath left the residents stranded, their mobility and belongings compromised. United under the banner of the “OnEstEnsemble” association, the locals embarked on a mission to restore this vital link.

Angus, a member of Living Rent Glasgow, faced an alarming situation when his flatmate moved out, and the letting agent informed him of a staggering rent increase. Angus was told that his monthly rent of £750 would shoot up to £995, an exorbitant increase of over 30%. The ultimatum was clear – agree to the hike or be forced to move out. In joint tenancies like Angus’, when one person leaves, it initiates a new tenancy, providing landlords with the opportunity to raise the rent significantly.

Tenants Daisy and Ramona found themselves in a challenging situation when their landlord imposed a massive 12% rent increase, exceeding the 5% maximum specified in their contract. Refusing to accept this unjust hike, they confronted the landlord and were shocked to receive a Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notice in response.

In a powerful display of community support and activism, ACORN Birmingham successfully prevented the eviction of a struggling mother and her ten-year-old daughter in Quinton. The family had faced the threat of eviction due to rent arrears accumulated after a significant rent hike last April.

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Séverine Perillat, a member of the housing tenants’ union for energy-inefficient housing, and Cécile Luthereau, head of advocacy, met with Pierre Verri, the Vice President responsible for air quality, energy, and climate, and Nicolas Beron-Perez, the Vice President responsible for housing in the metropolis, at the end of June.

On Tuesday, July 25th ACORN held nation-wide actions in 9 cities demanding the federal government to end apartment sales to predatory landlords. At each local action, ACORN highlighted recently purchased buildings where tenants have faced the hard consequences of new corporations taking over Canada’s affordable market rental housing stock. ACORN’s Stop Financialized Landlords campaign is pushing the government to save Canada’s affordable market rental housing by creating ways that rental housing can become community owned on a large scale.

Residents of Douala 5, united with OnEstEnsemble, are taking action to identify and replace outdated and dangerous electrical infrastructure. In January 2023, the association members identified approximately 500 faulty electrical supports in several neighborhoods.