Here is an article from Huck magazine that we have translated from English
because it describes the experience of a solidarity network, SolFed, in England,as we also know it in Brussels. Indeed, the Brussels Solidarity Network , oftencalled BruSol, uses, based on the same principles, direct action and solidarityto defend tenants as well as workers. This was created on the model of theSeattle Solidarity Network , SeaSol, in Seattle, USA. Strongly inspired by thetools of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), these solidarity networksseek to strengthen the power of our class against that of the dominant. ---- Hereis how BruSol describes itself on its website: "We are an all-volunteer mutualsupport network, open to tenants, with or without housing and to workers with orwithout a job, active or retired. s.We use direct class action to fight employers and landlords who exploit us,pocket our wages, deny us repairs, steal our rental guarantees, deceive and/orabuse us in any way. other."Do not hesitate to contact them if you wish to get involved.Anarchists help students take on landlords. It's called SolFed.Throughout the pandemic, the government has neglected students, especially whenit comes to housing. But a group of old school activists are stepping in andusing their radical politics to fight for the younger generation.Of the many trials and tribulations of student life, dealing with rental realtorsand landlords is the most trying. From the theft of security deposit to unsafeliving conditions, the challenges of student accommodation are endless. Duringthe pandemic, these problems have only worsened. Countless students now face ahousing crisis and are locked into one-year contracts for homes they cannotlegally live in. It's clear that the way landlords and rental agents treatstudents needs to change.That's where a group of old-school anarcho-syndicalist activists come in, helpingprecarious students confront their dodgy landlords. Formed in March 1994, theSolidarity Federation (better known as SolFed) is a federation of groups acrossthe UK and Ireland fighting for the rights of workers and tenants.Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy that sees revolutionary unionism asnecessary for working people to regain control of the economy and society ingeneral. As a school of thought, it emphasizes the importance of direct democracyand solidarity.The ethos behind the SolFed is anti-hierarchy and anti-authoritarian. In a timeof uncertainty for countless students, these anarchists are not only helping theyounger generation, they are also helping to pave the way for greaterresponsibility in the private rental sector.Echoing the sentiment of the National Unemployed Workers Movement, Plan C and aplethora of other activist movements, the group campaigns against capitalism"because it exploits, oppresses and kills workers and destroys the environment.for profit all over the world".Their goals state that instead of governmental hierarchy and class privilegesthat control the state through oppression and exploitation, "we want a societybased on worker self-management, solidarity, mutual aid and libertarian communism".The group says the issues workers and tenants face "are wide-ranging". The fightagainst "anything that defends or contributes to our mutual quality of life. It'sall part and parcel of building a solidarity movement."Ruby* joined SolFed as a teenager in October 2018, after the organization helpedher through the struggles she was having moving into her first student houseafter leaving halls of residence. "The rental company continually delayed ourmove-in date because there was unfinished construction that they hadn't told usabout. She then backed out of the contract a week after the move-in date, leavingus homeless and without a house to move into," she explains. Ruby says the rentalcompany ignored her calls and refused to communicate - other than telling her andher roommates to find new accommodations. "At the time, I was couch surfing and Ihad nowhere to go until my lessons started"."SolFed organized demand letters and pickets in an attempt to put financialpressure on the agency to give us compensation for breaching the contract, as wewere forced to move in a more expensive property," says Ruby.The rental agent didn't back down, but Ruby, inspired by SolFed's action, joinedthe group and pledged to help others fight for their rights. "What I like aboutthe politics of anarcho-syndicalism and SolFed in particular is that we recognizethat the problems of work and housing affect us all under capitalism. The bestthing we can do is stick together and try to help each other, whether it'sorganizing a workplace or marching past a rental agency with demands."As a student, even if you have the law on your side, which Ruby didn't, housingdisputes present a whole different set of problems. Proceedings in small claimscourt can be lengthy; many students cannot afford to wait months for an uncertainoutcome. A government study found that the average outgoings for a full-timestudent living in London is £11,679, while the maximum loan you can get is£8,700. With countless students unable to find work in the retail or hospitalitysector during the pandemic, fighting for your rights as a tenant is more vitalthan ever.But SolFed is determined to change that. Although notoriously reviled by thelocal press, SolFed's direct action is entirely legal. Direct action takesvarious forms, but some of the most commonly used methods are spreadinginformation through leaflets, local newsletters, and holding meetings to helpraise awareness of issues and encourage local participation. SolFed states on itswebsite: "Direct action is not limited to the dissemination of information. Itmeans a physical presence to defend and promote a better quality of life."Unsurprisingly, the fight for tenants' rights has spawned an intergenerationalcamaraderie between seasoned anarchists and young tenants. Openly seeking tochallenge sexism, ageism, transphobia, homophobia, racism and discriminationbased on physical ability, SolFed is open to everyone. While some members areolder activists and retirees, there is a growing influx of students and teenagerslooking to get involved.As one SolFed member told Huck, landlords and rental agents "continually takeadvantage of students by exploiting their lack of rental knowledge orexperience." But through various community events, widely distributed pamphletssuch as "Stuff Your Landlord," and educational courses, SolFed not only helpsyoung people fight for their rights - they also educate them about their rights.Local branches include the popular student cities of Aberdeen, Brighton, Bristol,Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, London and Plymouth. Incities with grossly inflated rental costs like Brighton and Bristol, solidarityagainst tenant exploitation is needed more than ever.In 2018, Brighton SolFed won a case for five tenants whose toilets had beenoverflowing with excrement for six months. It wasn't until a house tour forpotential tenants, six months after first reporting the problem, that thestudents learned that a fire had caused serious damage to the plumbing. .As it was not revealed to the students before they signed the contract, thetenants were awarded £2,218 after letting agents feared SolFed would go publicwith the matter. The rental agents had changed their logo a year earlier afterbecoming notorious for abusing and exploiting students."It was pure luck that we heard the rental agent talking about the fire, as wewouldn't have known about it otherwise. When we signed the rental contract wethought that was the kind of thing we would be told right away," explainsMarcus*, one of the tenants. "Our deal with SolFed allowed us to learn a lotabout what we are entitled to as tenants," continues Marcus, "and kept us fromfeeling helpless in the face of our letting agents who clearly took advantage ofour age and inexperience".Another Brighton case involved helping four tenants who were forcibly evictedfrom their home after the landlord tried to evade fines for renting the house asa "multiple occupancy house" (a property that is rented by three or more tenantswho are not part of the same household) without a permit. Even in cases wheretenants are favored by law, it is more difficult than one might think to seekjustice and to be compensated.In 2019, housing charity Shelter suggested that "almost three million people inEngland are one paycheck away from losing their homes". While the cost of rentincreases every year, the minimum wage has seen a dismal increase. Young peoplebetween the ages of 18 and 20 (the age of most students) are only entitled to£6.45 an hour. The average expected total cost of student accommodation for athree-year degree is estimated at £14,742, excluding living and universityexpenses. SolFed says the economic gap between most of us and the precariouslyhoused is much smaller than you might think.Pandemic-era students have been particularly hard hit. According to the NationalStudent Housing Survey, the average student in 2020/21 has so far paid £1,621 inrent for empty rooms for which he/she has not received a refund. Meanwhile, morethan 1.8 million homeowners took advantage of the mortgage holiday offered last year.Although the government has set up relief funds for some students, countlessstudents are unable to leave one-year contracts, signed before universitiesannounced that everything teaching would be moved online. Although someuniversities reimburse students in residence halls for unoccupied accommodation,landlords have no obligation to release students from their contracts.Under these conditions, it's hard to ignore the government's callous decision tocontinually neglect students during the pandemic - but it only underscores whySolFed's work is so crucial. Student tenants desperately need help and thegovernment has never succeeded in holding the private rental sector to account.But, with education and that level of camaraderie, there is always hope. Hope fora better future with other policies, and hope that we are on the verge of aradical end to the systematic exploitation of young tenants.*Names have been changed to protect identities.Translated from English by UCL Brussels. Original article on Huckmaghttps://bxl.communisteslibertaires.org/2022/12/08/les-anarchistes-aident-les-etudiant%c2%b7es-a-sattaquer-aux-proprietaires-ca-sappelle-solfed/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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