BOPF Supports Bristol Becoming a Living Rent City
BOPF Trustees have agreed to sign the following statement/letter to the Chairs of the Living Rents Commission Advisory Board. We are supporting this, alongside several other organisations represented on the Board, because of the detrimental impact of high rents on older people in the city. This impacts on their ability to live well in older age. We believe Acorn, which effectively fights for a fair deal for renters in Bristol and elsewhere should be part of the policy making process.
Christina Stokes
Chair, Bristol Older peoples Forum.
9 August 2022
Letter supporting Acorn becoming a member of the Living Rent Commission Advisory Board
To: Councillor Renhard and Professor Marsh
Councillor Tom Renhard
Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes
Bristol City Council
Professor Alex Marsh
School for Policy Studies
University of Bristol
From:
Ashley Community Housing
Bristol Fair Renting Campaign
Bristol Older People’s Forum
Generation Rent
Shelter Bristol
The Students’ Union at UWE
Dear Councillor Renhard and Professor Marsh,
We are writing to express our opinion that ACORN should be a member of the Living Rent Commission Advisory Board.
ACORN represents the experiences and voices of renters (both locally, and nationally). They have also been a driver of local policy and political action to reform the private renting system, and to tackle unaffordable rents, in particular:
● They have been an active member of the Homes and Communities Board, which is a “forum that brings together different sectors across the city” who are recognised by the council as being “integral to the city’s Homes & Communities system.”
● Their Ethical Lettings Charter was endorsed by the Mayor in 2016, and this formed the basis of the council’s landlord scheme.
● They worked successfully with Marvin Rees on his 2021 manifesto commitment to make Bristol a Living Rents City.
● They also co-delivered a Homes and Communities Assembly with the Bristol Fair Renting Campaign last year, where the Mayor made a commitment to lobby the national government for rent control powers.
● They collaborated with Bristol City Council and the Fair Renting Campaign to co-deliver the Bristol Renters’ Summit, where they led and facilitated discussions on what rent control could look like for Bristol.
● They are also an active member of the Renters Reform Coalition, whose proposals Councillor Renhard endorsed on behalf of the council, and highlighted in his blog to launch the Commission.
The Living Rent Commission has been set up to ‘explore options for how Bristol can become a living rent city, without negatively impacting on the quality or availability of rental property’. This is clearly a response to this campaigning and community work.
We feel uncomfortable that ACORN’s involvement in progressing this work is now being restricted.
To ensure that this Advisory Board is as effective as possible, we request that you reconsider your decision and invite ACORN to be a full member.
Kind regards,
Ashley Community Housing
Bristol Fair Renting Campaign
Bristol Older People’s Forum
Generation Rent
Shelter Bristol
The Students’ Union at UWE