Rents Are Sucking the Lifeblood Out of the UK Rents are sucking the lifeblood out of the lives of many people in the UK. Rental property is largely occupied by young people and people on low income in the UK. And of course, in very many cases, those two groups
Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) has balanced its books on the backs of social tenants, forcing the borough’s poorest residents to pay for financial mistakes through potential rent increases or reduced housing maintenance. To offset deficits from a £4.7 million Minster Square overspend and a £200 million debt from
What Cheltenham Borough Council Can Do — Right Now (Despite what Cllr. Tooke says) 1. Tackle Airbnb & Short-Term Lets First * Licence all short-term holiday lets. * Apply higher council tax to properties converted from residential use. * Push properties back into the long-term rental market to ease rent pressure. 2. Take an
The power of the Cheltenham Tenant Union is not a mystery; it is a direct result of our collective numbers. We operate on the simple principle that while one tenant can be ignored, thousands cannot. Our strategy is built on three clear levels of engagement, each one strengthening our ability
It’s a familiar scene in many British homes: black spots creeping up the walls, a musty smell lingering in the air, and the inevitable finger-pointing between tenants and landlords over who’s to blame for mold and damp. The question is often framed as a simple one: is this
A humorous AI take on Council Meeting in the style of parliamentary sketch writer Picture the scene in Cheltenham’s council chamber: a room humming with the earnest buzz of local democracy, where councillors gather to wrestle with the great issues of the day—chief among them, the private rental
A Major Step Forward In a recent Cheltenham Borough Council meeting, the Cheltenham Tenants Union achieved a significant milestone by bringing the critical issue of the private rental sector to the forefront of the council's agenda. Thanks to the passionate advocacy of Councillor Foster, the council has acknowledged
Lost Income And Waiting List Longer Cheltenham’s tenants and taxpayers are suffering from the Liberal Democrats’ mishandled decision to dissolve Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) and bring 5,000 council properties in-house. The first performance report post-restructure is damning: voids—empty council homes—have spiked, at a cost of over
Tenants and Council taxpayers to pay the price. The first performance report after bringing CBH in-house tells a clear story: voids have risen, the HRA has taken a financial hit, and tenants are paying the price for a politically motivated decision. The Liberal Democrats had nearly 3,000 households waiting
The news that seven of Britain’s largest housebuilders—Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Vistry—have agreed to pay £100m to settle allegations of market-rigging is a slap in the face to every renter and aspiring homeowner in Cheltenham. These corporate giants, caught sharing
What the Council Could Do About It, But Doesn’t Let’s start with a simple truth: Cheltenham’s high street is in trouble. Shops like the jeweller on the High Street are closing their doors. It’s not just one shop—it’s a pattern. But why? The answer
The Cheltenham Tenants Union welcomes a notable decline in the number of whole properties listed as Airbnbs in our town, a shift that could signal relief for the strained residential housing market. Recent data shows a drop from a peak of 754 whole properties to 688, representing homes with one