Save Our Homes

Glasgow Tenants and Homeowners Networking Conference

2006-03-23T04:24:00.000-08:00

SATURDAY 8th APRIL 2006
9.00am - 4.00pm

Charles Oakley Building, Glasgow Caledonian University,
Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow.

WHY WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER TO BUILD STRONGER LINKS: -

Rent increases, Secrecy, Demolitions, Repairs and Maintenance. Huge increase in costs for Right To Buy home owners.

24 Hour Concierge under
threat again.

Homelessness

Whose community?

Home Owners + Tenants

The future of 'social' housing

Ideas for organising independently of your landlord

The need for genuine dialogue between landlords and residents

-------------o0o--------------

* Creche [yes]

* Parking [yes]

* Buses {yes]

* Disability access [yes]

* Low Cost Buffet Lunch On Site [yes]

Getting there:

Charles Oakley Building, Glasgow Caledonian University
Train. Within walking distance of both Queen Street and Central Stations. For details on train times, please visit the National Rail Enquiries website.
Bus The University has a bus stop by the main entrance and is only 200 yards from Buchanan Bus Station. For local buses see Information Centre in St. Enoch Square. Tel: 0141 226 4826
Subway The University is close to both Cowcaddens and Buchanan Street stations.
Car Parking The University is easily accessible from Junction 16 of the M8 motorway. Although parking is available on campus, there are also ample spaces available at the nearby Concert Hall car park and Buchanan Galleries.

From: Glasgow

2005-12-16T06:06:00.000-08:00

From: Glasgow "Save Our Homes"
Glasgow Tenants Send warmest congratulations to EAST and all the Edinburgh Tenants who voted NO on an awesome victory over the Council Housing privateers.

Home Truths - Why Many Are Still Fighting The Move

2005-12-13T06:05:00.000-08:00

he Glasgow Housing Association website offers a tantalising glimpse of a bright new future. An old man, his tartan clad Scotty dog by his side, smiles underneath a happy quote about his brand new kitchen. The casual viewer would come away with the impression that social housing is surging forward unhindered into a brave new world.

They would be wrong. In 2002, Scotland's largest city transferred ownership of its 80,000 council houses to the private, but not-for-profit, social landlord the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). The ambitious project was the biggest of its kind in Europe but the process, known as stock transfer, has been mired in controversy. As Edinburgh tenants await the result of their own transfer ballot, those against the move are again claiming tenants were lied to, blackmailed and fed false promises by a multi-million pound government spin machine. They say transfer has created "social apartheid" in Glasgow where the homes of the few are transformed while thousands are "left to rot" in their multi-storey flats.

On December 15, Edinburgh's council leaders and housing officials will discover whether the capital's tenants will follow their west coast counterparts. A fierce, often bitter and vindictive argument has preceded the vote. Both the Scottish Executive and Westminster believe that stock transfer is the only way social housing will meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard - the benchmark that all homes must reach by 2015. The pro-transfer lobby have tapped into a war chest of around £8.5 million to sell the move in its best light while the anti-transfer campaigners, armed only with a fraction of the money, have done the best they can with leaflets and rallies. Despite senior politicians hailing the ballots as good examples of local democracy, the Executive has only funded one side of the fight.

"You've got this situation where David and Goliath are fighting against each other. The vote was won narrowly in Glasgow and now tenants have been left with a complete mess," says Jenni Marrow, executive member of the Scottish Tenants Organisation and a leading figure in the anti-transfer campaign.

The battle is not just a central belt spat; it is being fought out across Scotland. Aside from Glasgow, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway councils have transferred their homes. The Western Isles council also voted for transfer in a recent ballot. However, Dundee and Aberdeen councils have resisted the proposals, on the basis that "there is no evidence of any obvious demand for full stock transfer or a change of landlord". Stock transfer is a policy cooked up in Westminster by Gordon Brown, and promoted across Scotland by the Executive. The thinking behind it is simple. Scottish councils — burdened with over £200 billion of debt from building and maintaining publicly-owned homes - transfer the houses to a private sector housing association. The treasury writes off the debt and the new not-for-profit housing body raises cash from banks, financial companies and rent to build and maintain new homes. Any profits made are ploughed back into new stock.

Sandra Forsythe, Tenant Chair of GHA, says it has taken time for Glasgow tenants to see the real benefits of transfer, but she claims they are now coming home to roost. "When people see the windows being done, heating getting put in, they start to see what it was all about. It was always going to be a case of 'we'll believe it when we see it' and now the place is buzzing and excited. I'm certainly happier in my home and warmer. I don't miss the waterfall that used to come in my window." Sheila Gilmore, Edinburgh City Council's executive member for housing, says transfer is the best of a limited number of options open to Edinburgh council's 23,000 tenants. Housing debts are so bad, she explains, that 41 pence in every pound of rent paid by tenants is spent servicing the debt, not on renovation or maintenance. The net result: only basic repairs have been carried out over the last 10 years and there is no money to tackle Edinburgh's chronic housing shortage. Gilmore believes the city needs 10,000 new homes and transfer is the only way to get them.

We didn't wake up one morning and decide to do this. We have been looking very hard at all the options. But when I have people come to me and say, 'why can't we have a house in Edinburgh?', 'can we have a bigger home to give our children more space?' or 'why can't my gran get a ground floor flat?' - in that case an ideological argument doesn't cut any ice," she says.

Gilmore says Edinburgh faces a stark choice between transfer and rapidly escalating rents. She is supported byjacqui Watt, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA). "The city is 10,000 houses short and we have to do something radical to provide for the future," she says. Although many housing professionals support transfer as the only realistic way forward for Scotland's social housing, many privately question the political conditions that have created the necessity for the policy. Despite the not-for-profit nature of housing associations, anti-transfer campaigners say moving homes out of the public sector is simply privatisation, designed to give banks and businesses the leverage to make money from tenants.

Several Scottish housing professionals argue that chancellor Brown could have cancelled all the council's housing debt, but refused to do so for political reasons. New Labour, it is claimed, has no confidence in local government to do the job. This is a conclusion backed up by a call to the Treasury, where a spokesman says: "The UK government believes that to repay all local authority housing debt would send the wrong signals to authorities about their responsibility for servicing any future borrowings." Translated into plain speech: you've made your bed, now lie in it. We're only going to help you if you do what we think is best.

Sean Clerkin, campaign manager for the Scottish Tenants Organisation, says the 'best' option -according to New Labour in Westminster and Holyrood — has created a situation where "half the tenants are getting improvements and others have had no improvements of any kind". He says thousands are "left in limbo" because they live in homes under review for demolition. The number of homes, especially multi-storey tower block flats, scheduled to be pulled down in Glasgow has almost doubled from the number proposed before the transfer.

lain Maclnnes, a Glasgow Govanhill tenant, who campaigned against stock transfer, is even more forthright:"They are being left to rot. They don't want to spend money on buildings that will come down. Glasgow Housing Association is an inhumane landlord guilty of antisocial behaviour." GHA deny this allegation and say they have put £8m aside to carry out basic repairs on homes due for demolition. But the fact of the matter is that many tower blocks are under review. Effectively, their tenants are kept in the dark; getting by on whispers, never really knowing whether their home will be pulled down — a difficult thing to deal with for the often elderly and vulnerable tenants. However, no matter what the shortfalls of stock transfer, the governments at Westminster and Holyrood believe it is the only way that social housing will meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

Stock transfer may not be universally popular but in the current political climate many believe it is the best option on the table. Gilmore points to Birmingham where a stock transfer ballot resulted in a no vote. Campaigners hoped this would force a change of direction from central government, but they were wrong, Birmingham's local authority has been left to struggle on with massive debts. Gilmore, especially, says "she can't talk ideology with somebody who is desperate for a home when there is a solution sitting there". But whether that solution will lead to a bright future of new kitchens and happy Scotty dogs, or more vulnerable people forced into the margins, confused and uncertain, is a real and worrying question.

Agnes Ferguson, 68, from Sighthill, has lived in her flat since 1988. It has now come under the ownership of Glasgow Housing Association and she is unsure when it is due for demolition "I voted against transfer. I didn't really want it, but what can you do? We were promised new kitchens and bathrooms and then we heard the block might be coming down and today I'm none the wiser.

"I'm like any other woman, I like to be able to change my mind, but just now I don't know where I stand. I'd like to do some more decorating but there's no point if they pull the place down. I just don't know. All I know is we are under review for demolition and we'll find out for definite later on.

"You hear so many rumours you don't know who is telling the truth and who's not. I really don't want to leave this wee house - it's comfortable and I've put a lot of work into it. The only thing I'm annoyed with is the size of the kitchen - it's far too small.

"There are a lot of people who have been here 40 years. No matter where else I decide to go, my nice carpets aren't going to fit. I've got no faith in the politicians. They make promises to you and they don't keep them. Personally I would rather stay where I am until the good lord takes me."
Sourse:Peter John Meiklem. Big Issue

"SAVE OUR HOMES" CITY WIDE NOTICE OF MEETING Thursday December 1st 7.30pm

2005-12-01T05:59:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings to You All This will be Last meeting for this year of 2005.
the Quakers Meeting Place 38 Elmbank Crescent, Glasgow G2 4PS 0141 248 8493
Agenda includes:
Feedback from EAST + the Law is an Ass (John)
Updates and Media Reports (Sean)
Combating Eviction (Iain)
GHA Ltd. / Scottish Executive’s Breach of EU Law
Monitoring Concierge Deal
No Care & Very Low Maintenance
Add your concerns / points for discussion

Contact agahst2003 (at) hotmail.com

Demolition Threat in Glasgow

2005-08-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

Glasgow Housing Association seek undemocratic demolition solution for Sighthill housing estate in Glasgow. Tenants continue to fight against housing privatisation agenda, as 1,200 homes come under threat.

Last thursday, 18/08/05,a small group of committed tenants from the 'Sighthill Save Our Homes' campaign group, alongside housing activists from Glasgow, lobbied the local office of GHA,(Glasgow Housing Association), at 30 Castle Street, Royston, to protest against what they perceive as 'harrasment and bullying' by the landlord, GHA. The Association want to eradicate half of the Sighthill area as it presently stands, with the planned demolition of five double blocks in Fountainwell. Tenants at the lobby felt this would result in the 'destruction of Sighthill as a community'.

The tenants wanted to have a meeting with Bob Maguire, the local housing manager, about the planned demolitions. At a previous meeting organised by the Save Our Homes group on july 28th in Sighthill, the group were told by Mr.Maguire that they were welcome to send a deputation to his office anytime. 'Sighthill Save Our Homes' had previously written to the office in early May, and had finally received a reply stating that GHA 'would be in contact' in late June. With the planned demolition of their homes freshly annonunced, the protesters felt it was time to take matters into their own hands. They were refused a meeting.

Graham Campbell, a tenant from the Fountainwell area, said that the Sighthill tenants had only become aware of the demolitions through press reports. No tenant had seen any plans of the area, and no-one in the area had known of the demolitions before reading about it in the newspapers. Mr. Campbell described GHA's attitude as 'incredible', saying that many tenants in the area felt that a decision over the future of their homes had already been taken despite considerable resistance from the local community.

GHA had previously stressed that no decision on the future of the blocks would be taken until the results of a social survey were known. The results are now known.
50% of Fountainwell tenants are 'satisfied with their homes', with 83% of Sighthill's 'other half' in Pinkston satisfied with their homes. Mr. Campbell, noted that the figures reflect the way the Fountainwell blocks have been run down deliberately in order to 'facilitate' demolition. He described the GHA's decision after the release of the results as, "just another example of GHA's contempt for tenants".
Alan Graham, a tenant from the Pinkston blocks, was equally appalled:
"We can't trust the announcements of GHA after the way they've ignored and rode roughshod over our voices. People here fear the Pinkston blocks will also be demolished after Fountainwell".
Despite GHA promising that all tenants who wish to stay will be re-housed in the area once demolition is complete, there are real fears that many will be re-housed elsewhere in less suitable locations. This has been the pattern in other mass demolitions throughout Glasgow's urban history.

The news of the demolition comes on the back of GHA's recently announced intention to cut the 24 hour fixed concierge service, which provides frontline service and maintenance to all Sighthill blocks. This is seen as part of the deliberate run-down of housing stock preceding demolition. Some tenants think this will lead to increased vandalism, a general escalation in crime and, potentially, increased fire risk. The concierge service has generally been deemed one of the few success stories in high-rise management over the last few decades. According to Ian Mcinnes from the Glasgow Save Our Homes campaign, it is widely believed in Sighhill that the downgrading of the service,
"is a deliberate strategy to drive tenants out through fear to facilitate demolitions".
For Macinnes, "this constitutes cruel and inhumane treatment".

The Glasgow Save Our Homes group, and their affiliated group in Sighthill, want the existing high-quality 24 hour fixed concierge service to be maintained, enhanced and promoted as a good example throughout the UK. They urge GHA to abandon its intent to demolish Fountainwell and to initiate another full review with proper tenant consultation, before any further annoncements on Sighthill's future are made. They also say that there should be immediate investment in the housing stock as it stands, citing disinvestment as a clear breach of the Tenant-Landlord agreement, and as a direct contradication in terms of the Housing Scotland Act of 2001.

The concern of the Sighthill tenants is mirrored throughout Glasgow with increasing tenants concern about GHA policy and practice right across Glasgow. There has been a marked increase in evictions since the stock transfer from the City Council to the GHA. Promised refurbishments have yet to materialise, a rent review is under consideration after only three years despite promises that rents would remain unchanged for five years, and the much-vaunted tenant participation has been delayed indefinitely - perhaps until 2033 according to a recent 'Glasgow Herald' report. The predictions of those campaigning aginst the 2002 housing stock transfer in Glasgow have materialised with a vengeance. As the same promises are rolled out in Edinburgh ahead of the imminent stock transfer ballot, the post-transfer situation in Glasgow will be watched with keen interest.

Bill Ramsay, in a recent letter to the Herald, (29/07/05), summarises expertly. "Many of us continue to argue that the funders of the GHA, the banks, are ultimately in control of an organisation that remains the largest social housing organisation in western Europe. Under these circumstances there is a greater chance of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration putting men on Mars over the next couple of decades, than there is of Glasgow Housing Association delivering community ownership for its tenants. Space launches have, for unfortunate reasons, once again become worth watching. So too will be how the proponents of stock transfer fare on Planet Edinburgh".

PRESS RELEASE and invitation to attend. Sighthill SAVE OUR HOMES demo

2005-08-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

A Community Under Attack from GHA Bullies

On Thursday 18th August 2005, at 11.00am Tenants from Sighthill will be demonstrating, outside the Glasgow Housing Association Limited’s (Compas LHO) local housing office at 30 Charles Street, to protest against the harassment of tenants by this landlord, who wish to demolish their homes in half of Sighthill; 5 double blocks in the Fountainwell area. * - Source GHA Ltd survey). This would result in the destruction of Sighthill as a community.

At a recent public meeting on July 28th the Local Housing Manager, Bob McGuire stated that his staff were trained to deal with tenants properly and respectfully.
Also present at that public meeting was Paul Martin MSP who is a member of the GHA Ltd’s Board of Management . Paul states on this website referring to a meeting of 26th June; “The event, which took place at St Kevin's school, was organised by Save Our Homes campaigners to let the Sighthill community express opinions over the possible demolition of many homes in the area.
Over 2000 flats are currently under review for demolition as part of the GHA’s housing stock transfer, and many residents are concerned that a decision has already been taken over their future.
However, the GHA have stressed that no decision on the future of the flats will be taken until the results of a social survey are known.” *

This is Censorship

Well, the results are now know* more than 72% of Fountainwell tenants oppose demolition and 80% of Pinkston tenants are likewise opposed. However the revealed decision of GHA Ltd without who did NOT CONSULT was 1,100 flats in Fountainwell for demolition in and 1,000 Pinkston flats for modest refurbishment. The the people were and are against demolition but the GHA decided in favour and just as was the case with the Red Road, the tenants of Sighthill only found out via the mass media who were told initially to ‘sit on it’. Don’t tell the tenants till the official announcement was the message and then GHA Ltd. sends the information out to a few of the tenants by second class post thus guaranteeing that they get it after the media has announced the GHA Ltd decision to the world – so what was the point of the survey exercise? No part of Sighthill is safe. You cannot trust the GHA Ltd.

Target for Community Destruction

Sighthill Save Our Homes is opposed to the demolition of the Fountainwell area of Sighthill which is actively being targeted by the GHA Ltd for Community Destruction with tenants being bullied, by Housing Officers to accept re-housing outside the Sighthill area.

But You’ll Never walk alone
Tenants from across the city will be lobbying the Glasgow Housing Association Limited in support of Sighthill and to protest against the threat of demolishing up to 30,000 homes.

Lack of Investment by Anti-Social Landlord
Tenants are angry at their treatment at the hands of GHA Ltd. who talk about regeneration while acting in breach of the tenant landlord agreement with their policy of wilful neglect.

They are angry that the Scottish Executive are backing the activities of this exclusive, secretive, authoritarian landlord who are sitting on over £140million and are proposing to cut services and demolish huge numbers of homes without consultation. In fact GHA Ltd are secretive and refuse to consult with the tenants who would be affected by their decision making processes which are similar to the democratic style of Robert Mugabe or Ariel Sharon on housing policy.

 DANGER GHA Ltd Action Risks Glasgow Crime Wave + Fire Raising
Tenants are angry at the GHA Ltd’s intention to CUT the 24 HOUR Fixed Site Concierge Service. This will unquestionably lead to an escalation in real crime and put tenants into a state of
fear and alarm. The risk of fire will also be increased putting lives in danger. They say that they are communicating with tenants but could not be bothered sending an official along to a well publicised meeting in Sighthill. It is widely believed that the downgrading of the ‘Rolls-Royce 24
Hour fixed Site Concierge Service to a glorified mobile patrol service with staff cuts of two thirds from 144 to 50 for Glasgow starting with Sighthill, is a deliberate strategy to drive tenants out through fear to facilitate demolitions. This constitutes cruel and inhumane treatment.

They are angry at the ZERO level of consultation and the misinformation from GHA Ltd. whose idea of consultation is to say that they have spoken to the Tenants’ Committee of the Local housing Organisation ( LHO), a body which is the local branch of the GHA Ltd and which does not communicate with the Community in a meaningful way. It only issues glossy PR newsletters which are about spin, not dialogue.

The wilful neglect of communities which have not received a penny of investment since 2002. This is a clear breach of the Tenant - Landlord Agreement and at odds with the Scotland Housing Act 2001. So called regeneration is nothing more than a euphemism for the destruction of communities. The proposed wilful destruction of Sighthill will, if GHA Ltd have their way, be replicated in Cartyne, Govan, Gorbals, Red Road and elsewhere with 30,000 homes under review for demolition.

Need - not Real Estate Speculation
GHA Ltd say they don’t want to spend money on homes which may be demolished in the future; in the mean time families have to live in damp houses with fungus on the walls!
What is needed are the Multi-storey Flats in Fountainwell and other parts of Glasgow to get a substantial part of the £140 million surplus as investment to improve the living .
Tenants and Concierges say that the existing high quality fixed Site Concierge Service should be enhanced and promoted as a good example throughout the UK.

Social Apartheid
Save Our Homes despite its unhappiness with the present landlord opposes Secondary Stock Transfer, realising that this will as surely as night follows day lead to ghettoisation and increase poverty resulting from further cherry picking by housing associations seeking the most desirable properties and leaving the residual housing behind.

----o----

GHA Ltd
CREATING BITTER HOMES
AND
ANGRY COMMUNITIES

Sighthill SAVE OUR HOMES is an affiliate of
GLASGOW SAVE OUR HOMES SAVE OUR COMMUNITIES

The media are invited to attend and you can get more information from Graham Campbell on 079 4093 7241 or Sean Clerkin on 881 3338 after 6.00pm or Iain on 07976 718 111

Notice of Public Meeting

2005-07-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

Demolition in Sighthill - Public Meeting

public domain This work is in the public domain
Demolition in Sighthill - public meeting
GHA's Plans for Sighthill.

The GHA has announced its plan for demolition of the five multi-storey blocks in the Fountainwell part of Sighthill. Of course the fact that it announced this to the “Herald” and the “Evening Times” several days before bothering to mention it to us mere tenants is upsetting. It looks more like contempt rather than communication.

Sighthill Save Our Homes sighthillsoh (at) hotmail.com will hold a public meeting on Thursday 28th July at 6.30 p.m. In Sighthill Primary School, 8 Fountainwell Place, G21 1QH. All interested are invited to come along.

Tenants occupation in Glasgow

2005-06-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

Tenants occupation in Glasgow
June 22nd, 2005 by saveourhomes
public domainThis work is in the public domain

License
Yesterday,Tuesday the 21st of june, tenants from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee occupied the offices of ‘Communities Scotland’ to protest the run-down of basic services and the erasure of publicly-funded housing in Scotland. They sent out a message that they are organised and willing to resist New Labour’s privatisation agenda for housing in Scotland.
Click on image for a larger version

newdscf25.jpg
Posted by GHA tenant at 00:00 in | Link | Comments (0)
Thursday | June 16, 2005
Save our homes- Save our concierge -Save our community
Save our homes- Save our concierge -Save our community

* TENANTS QUESTION TIME: THURSDAY 16th JUNE 2OO5 T.3Opm
SIGHTHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL; FOUNTAINWELL TERRACE, G21

* GLASGOW HOUSING ASSOCIATION'S PROPOSED CHANGES TO YOUR 24-HOUR CONCIERGE SERVICE!

* RED ROAD - SAVE OUR HOMES - CAMPAIGN

CONFIRMED PANELLISTS:
Colin Fox MSP (SSP Convenor) Sandra White MSP (SNP) Sean Clerkin (Campaign Vs Housing Stock Transfer)
Elaine Ellis (Sighthill resident);
Also Invited are Paul Martin MSP (Labour) and
a GHA Ltd. Speaker
ALL WELCOME

Save our homes
c/o Flat 15/1, 32 Pinkston Drive, G21 1NG Email: sighthillsoh@hotmail.com
Mobile: 07940 937 241

GLASGOW 7 BRANCH G.M.B. TRADE UNION (CONCIERGE )

GLASGOW HOUSING ASSOCIATION'S PROPOSED CHANGES TO YOUR 24-HOUR CONCIERGE SERVICE!
1. Do you want your buildings patrolled on a regular basis?
2. Do you wish your elderly tenants to continue to enjoy the regular checks they are entitled to at present?
3. Do you wish your blocks to continue to be clean and vandal free?
4. Do you want a familiar face to continue to attend to your responses throughout the night particularly in an emergency?
OR
*DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE BUILDINGS WERE LIKE BEFORE YOUR SUCCESSFUL 24-HOUR CONCIERGE SERVICE WAS INTRODUCED?
*HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?
*HAVE YOU EVER CAME ACROSS UNDESIRABLES ON THE BACKSTAIRS?
*HAS YOUR HOUSE BEEN BROKEN IN TO?
*HAVE YOU COME ACROSS URINE, VOMIT AND FAECES ON YOUR LANDINGS, BACK-STAIRS AND LIFTS?
*HAVE YOU CAME ACROSS BLOOD, DISCARDED NEEDLES etc, ON YOUR LANDINGS BACKSTAIRS etc?
GLASGOW HOUSING ASSOCIATION IS A TENANT LED ORGANISATION, YOU THE TENANT IS THEIR MOST VALUABLE ASSET PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SAY!!!!!
TO HAVE YOUR SAY PLEASE CONTACT 0141-274-6200 TO OUTLINE YOUR CONCERNS, ALTERNATIVELY CONTACT YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLOR / M.P./ M.S.P.!!

>>>>>>>>> RED ROAD - SAVE OUR HOMES - CAMPAIGN

No Information, No Consultation, No Tenant Participation, No Negotiation, Authoritarian, Aloof, Arbitrary, Arrogant, Contemptuous of its Tenants and above all Secretive and Unaccountable ......

GHA Ltd. Plans to Demolish Your Home
On the 9th of March 2005 your landlord, Glasgow Housing Association Ltd. announced its plan to demolish "one of the largest of the eight Red Road tower blocks". It is part of their, crazed Masterplan to flatten all the Red Road high flats? There have been rumours about a Secret Masterplan for years, now it's official so -We need to see it. We have a right to know!
Have the Glasgow Housing Association Ltd., got the approval of the Scottish Executive to demolish your home? Do they have your approval?
The first that many tenants knew of this was when it was on TV and in the Evening Times.
And, it was recently announced "Planners want to erect the 39-storey building on the site of the old Strathclyde Regional Council headquarters at the junction of India Street and St Vincent Street. If approved, the skyscraper would top the height of the city's Red Road flats - Europe's tallest homes at just over 328ft." The new city centre building would include luxury flats, offices, shops and a swimming pool. But would it include you?
In Edinburgh, the convener of the Edinburgh Council's planning committee, Trevor Davies, recently said the time had come to look at where it might be possible to site new tall buildings.

Tenants of Red Road Were not consulted !
• Well some of the Red Road tenants did not take kindly to being treated in such a disrespectful way. On April 5th a well attended Tenants' Meeting was held by the Red Road Save Our Homes Campaign.
• It was agreed to carry out a survey which would be independent of the biased manipulation of GHA Ltd. and the Local Hypocrisy We were not consulted by GHA Ltd so we are going consulting each other.

"We have been lied to and ignored; we have to do something about it."
Would it be better to break up the GHA by moving to Second Stage transfer with private sector finance? Well, David Orr as head of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations thinks GHA has been a disaster but wants to do away with rent guarantees for tenants and move to higher rents as more housing associations come into existence. That's fine for him on £65,000 per year to advocate lofty rents.
"I want to move but will it be to something decent?" "I've lived here too long to move now." "These are sound buildings, it doesn't make sense."

Support our campaign for freedom of information for tenants in the Red Road.

Housing Action ALERT

2005-06-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

Housing Action ALERT - SAVE OUR HOMES FROM ANTI-DEMOCRATIC GLOBAL FINACE
COME AND JOIN US – BRING A DRUM, A WHISTLE, SOME FOOD AND FRUIT JUICE.

GLASGOW SAVE OUR HOMES + DUNDEE
DEFEND COUNCIL HOUSING +
+ Edinburgh Against Stock Transfer +

SAVE OUR HOMES FROM ANTI-DEMOCRATIC GLOBAL FINACE There is to be a direct action this Tuesday 21 June 2005 in

Glasgow to highlight the issue of stock transfer / the privatisation of Council Housing.

Activists from across Scotland will come together in Glasgow – BE THERE Central Hotel, (at the corner entrance beside the fire fighter statue) Gordon St,

Tuesday 10.30am to carry out an occupation of a relevant

building. Details will be released on the day, please be there.

ACTIVE
DEMOCRACY – MAKE YOU VOICE HEARD – DEMAND THE RIGHT TO PUBLICLY FUNDED, PUBLICLY ACCOUNTACBLE DECENT HOUSING

This action is to SAVE OUR HOMES in Glasgow from the secretive demolition derby plan of the Glasgow Housing Association Ltd.

This action is to SAVE OUR EXCELLENT 24 HOUR CONCIERGE from its proposed destruction at the hands of the heartless landlord Glasgow Housing Association Ltd. Acting for the Government in Scotland against the tenants.

This action in Glasgow to highlight the issue of stock transfer / the PRIVATISATION OF COUNCIL HOUSING IN EDINBUGH AND THE REST OF SCOTLAND

There are Government plans to start the privatisation process in Edinburgh in November this year. Actively support Edinburgh Against Stock Transfer. Highlight the Edinburgh campaign against these evil plans to privatise Edinburgh’s Council housing.

We need as many people as possible to get to Glasgow on Tuesday.

please Call Luke on 07977 294 865

to arrange transport details.

If YOU can help EAST in any way

Please Luke on
07977 294 865

To save Glasgow’s 24 Concierge Service from drastic cuts call Iain on 07976 718 111 or email saveour_homes@yahoo.co.uk

SAVE OUR HOMES —- PRESS CONFERENCE

2005-04-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

April 19th, 2005 by saveourhomes
At 103 Marfield Street, Carntyne

NO TO UNJUST DEMOLITIONS
NO TO MARKET TENTS
NO TO POVERTY
NO TO LAND SELL OFF
NO TO SECRECY OF GHA LTD
Get the news that the dominant media may decide not news fit to print Get the news that the dominant media may decide not news fit to
Print and hear and tell what smg (Scottish Media Group, publishers
of the Herald and Evening Times) ignore.
Will the Socialist Voice be there when mass public sector housing
is daily being rubbished by the so called Community based housing
associations with the tenant led /'by the nose'/ involvement through
LHOs (Local Housing Officers) to pave the way to full privatisation
and the return of pre- World war II landlordism?
Will the Big Issue be there?

You should be there if you care about decent homes for all and
the terrible policy that will create more homelessness.

Come to the this press conference* and ask question and go
from there and discuss what you have heard.

Tenants Legal Rights

2005-02-26T02:26:00.000-08:00

February 26th, 2005 by saveourhomes

TENANTS’ LEGAL RIGHTS
Scottish Monitoring Group on Housing &
Homelessness Conference

Glasgow Govan, 26 February 2005

I would to thank the Scottish Monitoring Group on Housing & Homelessness for inviting me to speak here today. I have been asked to talk about tenants’ legal rights, and I would like to examine the experience of tenants in Glasgow post housing stock transfer.

There is no doubt that the Glasgow Housing Association Ltd has a more commercial approach to the recovery of rent arrears than Glasgow City Council. In practice this translates to the earlier raising of proceedings and an expectation that tenants will pay back arrears more quickly. The expectation that arrears should be repaid at a higher rate can cause problems when 81% of your tenants are in receipt of benefits.

Outside London, Glasgow has the highest levels of poverty and deprivation in the UK. Deep rooted problems of poverty are not assisted by a commercially hungry ‘social’ landlord. Of course people need to repay their rent and arrears, but when you are living on £50 to £60 per week – and lets remember many people also have deductions from their benefit to pay back social fund loans – a social landlord needs to be ‘reasonable’. That is particularly so when you remember that no-one gets a council tax rebate for water and sewerage charges. So even if you are on income support or jobseekers allowance you are still required to pay a few pounds a week from your breadline benefit to pay for water rates.

The shift in rent arrears policy in Glasgow post stock transfer is compounded by the fact that the GHA Ltd is not only recovering its own rent arrears but historic arrears due to Glasgow City Council. It is not uncommon to see some clients with several thousand pounds of arrears the bulk of which were due to Glasgow City Council and incurred over a very long period of time. It is unrealistic to expect such arrears to be repaid rapidly where tenants are on a low income; and it helps no-one to try and evict such tenants because repayment offers are seen as to ‘low’. Shortly after transfer on 7 March 2003 the GHA Ltd sought to use old court actions raised by the City Council to evict its tenants. There were many thousands of these old actions – and indeed many remain, typically ‘sisted’ - frozen - for repayments.

Govan Law Centre was successful at the Court of Session in reducing an eviction decree obtained by the GHA Ltd in an old City Council case. This case involved some very detailed legal arguments, but suffice it to say the GHA Ltd has by and large stopped using former City Council eviction actions as a vehicle to recovery possession. That is good news as it means more tenants have a greater opportunity to repay arrears and avoid repossession proceedings.

There are also some worrying issues concerning the GHA Ltd in terms of professional ethics and general managerial competency. For example, I am aware of a case where the GHA Ltd said it would not implement an eviction decree which had previously been recalled if a large backdating of housing benefit – about £2,000 - was received. This backdated sum was obtained with the help of City Council social workers and Shelter Scotland. However, after receiving this sum the GHA Ltd said it would still carry out the eviction. Glasgow City Council, nor I think any other RSL, has ever behaved in such an unethical manner.

More recently, the GHA Ltd instructed a physical eviction of a women in Govan even although the decree had been recalled, and the GHA had received service of the Minute for Recall by sheriff officers the week before the eviction. The tenant went out of her home to go to the local shops, and returned to find an eviction in progress. Eventually the GHA Ltd apologised, but indicated it was not prepared to make any other concession.

In terms of defending eviction actions tenants should be aware of their basic legal rights. In rent arrears cases ‘substantive’ defences will typically include:
§ Defending the action as ‘not reasonable’ to evict on all of the facts. For Scottish secure tenants in arrears of rent, section 16 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires the sheriff to ascertain whether it is ‘reasonable to make the order’. This may require an evidential hearing (civil proof).
§ Some rent ‘not lawfully due’. For example the mutuality of contract principle in Scots law means a landlord cannot insist on rent if it is in breach of contract - so where landlord has failed to carry out notified repairs it could be
argued that some rent is not lawfully due.
§ Some arrears may have prescribed under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 (as amended) - If over 5 years old and not pursued then certain debts will be irrecoverable.
§ Is there an outstanding housing benefit claim or appeal before the Appeals Tribunal? If so, it may be unreasonable (and premature) to proceed with eviction action while this is pending, depending on the facts and circumstances.

Some social landlords – including the GHA Ltd - operate a practice whereby a diet of proof is discharged on the basis that the tenant enters into a repayment plan and ‘consents’ to decree in the event this agreement is broken. Typically
such arrangements are incorporated into a document known as a ‘Joint Minute’.

Such tactics have been disapproved of by the English Court of Appeal because the court must be satisfied as to whether it is reasonable to grant decree. In Wandsworth LBC v. Fadayomi [1987] 1 WLR 1473; [1987] 3 All ER 474; 19 HLR 512 the Court of Appeal stated that consent orders have no place in public sector proceedings because the court must be satisfied that the appropriate grounds and conditions are made out.

Tenants may also have ‘procedural’ defences, in other words the action has not been raised properly. In Glasgow, it is not uncommon to find cases raised following the service of a Notice of Proceedings for Recovery of Possession (NPRP), and thereafter the tenant signs a new Scottish Secure Tenancy agreement. If this happens it is possible to argue that the action is incompetent and should be dismissed as the service of the NPRP relates to the old tenancy agreement.

While the GHA Ltd will not hesitate to evict a tenant for rent arrears, they will hesitate when it comes to carrying out major repairs. The GHA Ltd had a logo which was like a sausage machine where tenants’ rent was paid in at one end and repairs come out on the otherside. If only that machine were real.

The Scots law on repairs makes it clear that a tenant is legally entitled to a home which is free from dampness, and can be heated to a reasonable temperature without spending an inordinate amount on money on fuel costs.

In Govan and Ibrox we have a dozen multi-storey flats where tenants living typically on £60 a week or so regularly spend at least £20 a week on heating. Even then their homes are still cold, freezing & damp. Such conditions are conducive to very high levels of house dust mite, the faeces of which is a potent allergen which can sensitise human beings to developing respiratory diseases. The high rise flats suffer from water penetration due to their construction and the lack of structural maintenance. The walls soak up water like sponges making it impossible to avoid the presence of dampness and
mould growth.

The GHA Ltd says it will not carry out major repairs because it might or might not knock these buildings down within 10 years. Dithering over the future of the multis in Glasgow is not a legal defence for failing to carry out repairs.

The GHA Ltd is in clear breach of its legal obligations to tenants. It must either decant families and tenants to warm and dry homes, or carry out whatever works are necessary to make these flats ‘tenantable & habitable’.

This is all settled law. Govan Law Centre recently posted online – www.govanlc.com - some photographs of the appalling living conditions which some GHA Ltd tenants have to endure: and endure while the GHA happily receives rent for these
properties.

When I asked the GHA’s Michael Lennon why he had done nothing for hundreds of families living in intolerable living conditions in Govan he told me I was an ‘ambulance chaser’ and that this was a ‘cheap shot’. Well, Mr Lennon I call upon you to visit my client’s homes for yourself. The tenants of Glasgow pay you a very generous salary, and it might be helpful if you earned that by thinking about them, as opposed to making silly statements. Finally , we need to consider the impact of the housing stock transfer on homeless families.

Govan Law Centre has assisted tenants in lodging applications for tenants living in conditions which are not reasonably fit for human habitation. Such tenants can be legally homeless if it is not reasonable for them to continue to occupy their home – by reason of living in conditions which are not ‘tenantable and habitable’.

Yet Glasgow City Council refuses to accept such applicants as homeless as they say all other local accommodation is equally damp and in a state of disrepair. We have a case where a family are in a damp rat infested flat – their 2 year old child was found holding the tail of a rat in the living room. The Council refused to accept they were homeless – as other accommodation locally was allegedly just as bad! 21 st Century Scotland?

We are in the process of challenging these decision by way of judicial review but why aren’t the GHA Ltd spending public money – as promised – to render houses safe and fit to live in.

Dampness and mould (spelt ‘mold’) in the United States of America is no longer covered by many insurance companies because its impact on bad health is so well recognised. The following statement is taken from Rep Conyers Jr’s website on why he has introduced a public health bill in Congress on this issue: “The growth of “toxic mold” is becoming a problem of monumental proportions. Exposure to mold growth in residential, public and commercial buildings is believed to have caused serious medical conditions which include bleeding lungs, digestive problems, hair loss, nausea, loss of memory, reduced cognitive skills, and death. Property damage from mold growth has destroyed millions of dollars in real estate and forced homeowners to the curb. We cannot eliminate mold. However, there are steps that can be taken to minimize the dangers of indoor mold growth”. (The Melina Bill, HR 1268, http://www.house.gov/conyers/mold.htm

It has been almost two years since the GHA Ltd took ownership of around 82,000 homes in Glasgow. Why no major repairs when the health of hundreds if not thousands of families are being needlessly jeopardised by

LET’S CREATE!

2000-12-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

LET’S CREATE STRONG AND ACTIVE RESIDENTS' AND TENANTS' GROUPS IN EVERY STREET, BLOCK, SCHEME AND NEIGHBOURHOOD!

Local community action

- What we can do as residents and tenants -

A DIY GUIDE

· Would you like to meet people, and to share ideas, local information and experiences?

· Would you like to see people supporting each other, and more community spirit in your block or neighbourhood?

· Do you want to see a safer and better environment, better conditions, more facilities and social justice for you and all your neighbours?

· Do you believe people should speak up for themselves about what they need and want?

If so, why not set up a residents and tenants group in your street, block of flats, scheme or local area - or join one that’s already active?

How can we, as local residents, make a real difference to our communities and neighbourhoods?

In any community a whole range of positive, practical things can be organised and encouraged which bring people together, build up community spirit and improve our local neighbourhoods.

Some examples of things you could do that are already going on in local areas around the city:

· encourage informal discussion and communication in your street, block and neighbourhood

· do local door-to-door leaflets and newsletters about local issues

· hold public meetings on topical local issues

· organise street parties and other social events

· set up skills and resources sharing schemes

· campaign for play and youth facilities and activities

· demand traffic calming

· take up people’s housing problems and conditions

· resist obnoxious or inappropriate development schemes

· defend useful community facilities threatened with closure

· make sure communal areas and streets are kept clean, and pavements and lights are repaired

· promote recycling projects

· get the council to plant more trees in local streets

· organise picnics and other activities in local parks

· start a ‘park friends’ group, and protect and improve all local green spaces

· set up and support parents’ groups in schools and playcentres

· do local residents’ opinion surveys

· organise local art and creativity exhibitions - and plan community murals

· find positive ways of reducing anti-social behaviour

· make sure local historical sites and buildings etc are protected

· support and set up local clubs / interest groups (gardening, music, sports, local history)

The possibilities are endless… with an active residents association you could start to do them all!

Kicking things off

The trick is to get organised and active. By encouraging neighbours to get involved, and being as positive and friendly as possible with everyone, it is amazing what people can achieve.

Why not get together with two or three neighbours you know and start meeting regularly in each other’s homes or in a friendly local community hall? Give yourselves a name. Call a meeting of local residents to publicly launch a residents group..

Discuss what people feel are the important issues, and things you can start to do together - deliver reports of these discussions to all interested neighbours. Contact the authorities to find out what’s going on about various issues - when ready, lobby them and take action for the improvements your community wants. It’s all about taking ‘ownership’ of our own neighbourhoods and our own lives.

Stick at it!

Encourage local initiative. Gradually build up a list of more and more members/contacts. Organise public meetings and events, local campaigns and so on. Leaflet door-to-door. Start an e-list for members. Most importantly, stick at it and you and your community will be stronger for it

You’re not alone!

There are many residents' and tenants' groups in local areas around Glasgow. We can share our news and experiences, discuss and pursue issues of common concern and support each other.