Mission

Our mission is to promote a booklet which will help empower vulnerable tenants to secure better housing for themselves and their families. The growing housing crisis in London means that more individuals live in substandard conditions that threaten their health and wellbeing, which often negatively impact on their mental health. We believe that everyone deserves a safe and healthy home, regardless of their social background. The booklet is mostly aimed at individuals placed in private housing by the local authorities due to a shortage of council houses, who have become victims of revenge evictions, serious disrepair, and possession proceedings. It provides information about tenant protection and rights, as well as the assistance available, and gives renters the knowledge they need to improve their housing conditions. The booklet is currently tailored to Brent, but we are confident that it could be rolled out more widely, and change the lives of renters across London. There is a particular urgency in exploring this as we are a small charity and have few financial means of reaching out to renters outside Brent. We hope to attract major sponsors in producing booklets for other boroughs and the assistance of marketing professionals and graphic designers on this will be hugely appreciated.

Category

Poverty Alleviation

Additional Information

We are a registered charity based in the London Borough of Brent. Since 1986, we have worked to secure affordable, healthy and safe homes, as well as access to justice, for Brent residents in particular and private tenants in England in general.  We run a Housing Advice Centre in two locations in Brent which provides free legal services to up to 270 beneficiaries a year and also provide free advice to those whose homes are adversely affecting their mental or physical health through our Healthier Homes Project.  We run the Brent branch of Hillingdon Credit Union, which encourages savings and offers low interest loans. We also run a Financial Health Centre, which provides general money advice and teaches budgeting skills, and are piloting Savers’ Clubs in local schools to promote the development of a savings habit at a young age.  We also have a campaigning arm called Renters’ Rights Campaign. Our volunteers reach out to tenants across Brent through door-knocking and public meetings. The views collated then inform our campaign for changes in housing policy at local, regional and national levels.