Living Rent Glasgow organized to protect the housing of asylum-seekers in Scotland, who have been the target of wide-spread unjust evictions with nowhere else to go. They have successfully resisted these evictions, and their power is growing!

Living Rent Glasgow had a major victory when they successfully resisted an unjust eviction for a family who needed wheelchair access. When the city council issued an eviction notice, the family feared moving into a hotel or the streets. Living Rent sprang into action, and in partnership with the ASH Project, put pressure on the city council until the family was allowed to stay. When we stand together, we win!

FIVE THOUSAND people in temporary accommodation!

ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED council properties lying empty in Edinburgh.

SIX HUNDRED of these vacant properties are concentrated within the Lochend/Craigentinny/Restalrig community itself.

We recognise the urgency and legitimacy of climate change, and the importance of human action and systemic change in building a sustainable future. As a union, we commit to fight for the provision of high quality, green and affordable housing for all and to fight for climate justice across our campaigns. 

All of our solidarity to the powerful, inspiring and strong feminist warriors that build our movements and resistance today. Happy International women’s day!

As a union, we fight for decent, affordable, and secure housing. And that’s only the starting point. We want our homes to be a space in which to lead a dignified life free from oppression. However, our homes are not protected from the challenges of everyday life –  capitalism, racism, and patriarchy still overwhelmingly impact those of us who are not men and this is intimately tied up with our housing struggles. Rather than being a space of security and stability, our homes are tainted by these structures. 

Living Rent, ACORN International’s branch in Scotland, has been hard at work recently defending members against landlords, protesting forced evictions, and speaking out against injustices in their local communities.

Here’s what they’ve been up to lately:

EVICTIONS

Living Rent continues their ongoing campaign against evictions, with members being featured in the media in their fight against unfair or forced evictions.

Living Rent: Croftamie member Marjorie was threatened with eviction for not “having a durable connection to the area”, also known as: xenophobia

Evictions have been widespread in Scotland, including areas such as North Lanarkshire, Govanhill, Edinburgh, and Pollokshields. Tenants have been threatened and intimidated by landlords, and have also been subjected to inhospitable living conditions, including intense mold.

Living Rent’s response has been to file for an extension on the eviction ban, and group support to protect individual members.

ELECTIONS

Scotland recently held elections for the next Government, and Living Rent worked to raise awareness among voters to boost their familiarity on candidate and party policies on relevant issues to each Living Rent branch, such as the developing housing crisis, arrears, rising rents, and climate change.

Check out the link to find out more, get involved, and take action with Living Rent.

From Glasgow Live:

Community activists are currently occupying land in Maryhill earmarked for sale by Glasgow City Council.

The derelict land on Collina Street, known locally as ‘The Valley’, was used as the main location in Still Game but has now become the centre of an ongoing dispute.

Campaigners have set up a wooden hut with one volunteer at a time taking turns to occupy the land. They plan on maintaining a presence on the site until the council stops the sale and engages with locals.

A temporary extension to the sale has been granted due to the pandemic to allow offers of interest to be submitted. The site is currently being marketed for 125 units of low-cost homeownership.

But locals are considering a community buyout over concerns that the social housing needs of the community are being ignored in favour of selling to private landlords.

Living Rent member and Wyndford Tenants Union committee member Norman Cunningham accused the council of failing to speak with the community about the plans before the original sale deadline.

He says he community have developed their own vision and solutions for how the piece of land could be used for a ‘sustainable, environmentally-friendly, community housing development’.

He told Glasgow Live : “We decided to occupy the land and then the next day the sale was postponed – but we only found out through the media. We decided we would still go ahead with the occupation because they never communicated with us about what was going on.

“We’ve set up a wooden hut called Boabby’s Bothy where one person can sit in at all times. We won’t stop until they sit down and talk to us. So far, the council has failed to respond to our attempts to meet with them and have continued to gaslight us.”

The sale of the land is part of the Maryhill Transformational Regeneration Area which Mr Cunningham has been described as ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “The Collina Street site will deliver 125 new low-cost home ownership properties in Maryhill, homes that will complement the wide range of affordable housing already built – and to be built – in the area.

“The low-cost home ownership properties cannot be sold to private landlords as there is strict assessment criteria for the purchaser and unless they meet this criteria (first-time buyer, income threshold and so on) they will not be permitted to purchase. When completed, most of the homes in the Maryhill Transformational Regeneration Area will be in the socially-rented sector, underlining the reality that affordable homes will be a feature of the entire regeneration area in Maryhill, and providing low-cost home ownership offers a choice for those who prefer to buy.

“The wider project will transform the quality of housing in this part of the area, and it should be noted that this is a community-led masterplan that includes mixed tenure projects across a number of sites. That master plan is supported by the local housing association.”

The Still Game for The Valley group will be holding a public meeting at 6.30pm this evening to discuss the campaign and proposals for the Community Right to Buy.

To join the meeting, click here.

Living Rent Campaign in Scotland has formally affiliated with ACORN International and ACORN Scotland! They have been doing outstanding work, so we’re honored to have them formalize the affiliation. Adelante!

First meeting of ACORN Scotland’s Leith Community Organization starts with a bang. Good crowd assembles, does its business, breaks into small groups, and then after lots of discussion and democratic voting, makes the list to start taking names and kicking it up in Edinburgh!

Members of ACORN Scotland went on education campaign to get the word out about ACORN Scotland. And they also just had their 3rd Organizing Committee meeting.