A twist in the tale of London's social cleansing. The tenants associations in Hackney are taking the council to court over the new tennancy agreement the council is trying to slide by unnoticed. As the link suggests the agreement has expanded, 35 pages as opposed to the old 4 page document. The link makes reference to a number of onerous agreements, such as making tenants responsible for household members behaviour anywhere in the borough. They are still secure tenancies (although Hackney Homes will be described as a charity, a likely precursor to privatisation), but I listened to a housing activist in a branch meeting last night who told us about a number of the new conditions. This is only what I was told, but these apparently include:
- Tenants must not invite known criminals into their home.
- Householders must not be a member of a 'gang', a gang being defined as a group of at least three people that use a name, emblem or colour, or are associated with a particular area - by that definition football teams are now gangs.
A system of collective punishment is being instituted. But there's more, page after page of this. All tennants must carpet their own homes, including putting down high-quality underlay. Tenants must refrain from feeding any birds. Tenants may not keep any cattle, figure that one out! This was only what I was told (although I have no reason to doubt it). It seems to me Hackney Council want to conduct an experiment, which, if it 'works', will be no doubt be extended across the country. There will still be secure tenancies, but a tangled litany of terms and conditions that would leave almost every tenant and resident vulnerable.