Being a tenant is lonely. Where do they turn when landlords or letting agents bully them into paying more, unlawfully evict them, or refuse to carry out repairs? For once the news is good: the Bristol-based tenants rights group Acorn is looking to raise money to pay for staff in order to become a genuine nationwide tenants union, with all its concomitant admin costs. Living Rent (which campaigns for renting rights in Scotland) is also hiring a staff member.

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Tenants need someone to represent their interests. Their homes are (in England at least) easily sold beneath their feet, and no-fault eviction notices destroy security. Renters move forlornly between frequent short-term lets, their lives precarious and peace of mind fleeting (although new laws will improve our lot in Scotland).

Tenants in the London borough of Hackney have Hackney Renters to speak for them, and nationally Generation Rent campaigns in the media. Both are excellent but too busy to provide individual representation, for example in court. The solution is obvious: a properly funded, well-organised professional tenants union. Judging by the problems shared on Acorn’s Facebook group what’s needed is advice, advocacy and mediation during disputes with owners.

Landlords have the Residential Landlords Association yodelling loudly for their cause. More invidious for tenants are letting agents who vociferously defend buy-to-let investors’ interests, sometimes against the needs and rights of the tenants paying rent. Agents have their own group, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, which speaks for landlord rights as part of its remit. But still landlords feel hard done by.

One of the most vexatious aspects of letting agents is the notorious and pointless quarterly inspection, where they stroll around the flat noting minor faults. It would be satisfying to call up the tenants union rep to accompany them on their mission, to record faults in the property, recommend repairs or improvements, and speak to rent officers when assessing rent levels (where this is still a possibility).

Working tenants struggle because of dwindling legal aid and because the growing burdens on Citizens Advice force them to pay for legal advice and to represent themselves at possession hearings. The largest single cause of homelessness is a private tenancy ending for no fault (often a so-called “revenge eviction” after a renter requests repairs). A properly staffed and funded tenants union is not merely desirable, but essential in a world where many police forces are still ignorant of the fact that wrongful or unlawful eviction is a crime with the potential for a prison sentence. Tenants need support, as many are terrified by the very thought of a court appearance and, when confronted by a landlord’s legal team must conduct their own case.

At the moment, renters are stuck. They rely on an informal yet occasionally effective network of pro bono legal advice or wisdom from the shared experience of fellow sufferers, yet some tenants are scared by the very sight of a court letter. Imagine if we had house lawyers or a firm on retainer?

A tenants union could speak up for their interests at Westminster and Holyrood, ideally even sponsoring an MP (or MSP). We also need active interventions, as when Acorn in Bristol picketed a property after bailiffs were due to evict a family.

A tenants union would mediate to resolve disputes over repairs, and stand up for tenants at risk of eviction, either by providing legal representation or accompanying tenants to meetings and hearings, and negotiating with errant landlords and their agents intent on emphasising the apparent powerlessness of tenants by feeding their fear.

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Tenants rarely actually trash their homes. But landlords are known to save money by hiring “tenancy eviction specialists” to throw tenants out. It would be wonderful to have a union to watch our back: someone to call if intimidating heavies are hammering on the door.

When tenants misbehave, landlords lose money. When landlords misbehave, tenants lose their home. And thanks to Acorn in England and Living Rent in Scotland a tenants union is starting to look like a reality. With millions of tenants in the UK’s private sector, even a small monthly subscription would pay for properly resourced staff. That’s a lot of voters. The formation of a tenants union is one sign that this sleeping tiger is awake and starting to roar.