On 12 January, the ACORN Community Union successfully stopped an eviction in Bristol. Union members managed to physically block the bailiffs from entering a tenants’ home.
Acorn tweeted:
We fought and won!
Yesterday 20 ACORN members stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our member Adam, facing eviction by bailiffs.
Sanctuary Housing, a housing association with over 250,000 properties, called the bailiffs on our disabled member in supported housing, for rent arrears. pic.twitter.com/kzpLKMgkz3— ACORN Bristol (@ACORN_Bristol) January 12, 2023
ACORN responded after housing association Sanctuary Housing called bailiffs on a disabled tenant over rent arrears.
Luckily, the tenant – whose name is Adam – was a member of the union and called up his comrades, who were able to arrive before the bailiffs did.
Our members turned up before the bailiff did and blocked the corridor to Adam’s flat. County court bailiffs are not authorised to use any force, which means that a group of us locking arms in front of a fellow member’s door can be enough to stop an eviction happening, and buy a member more time. In this case, the bailiff turned up, took one look, and called off the operation.
Collective strength
The union’s action has bought Adam valuable time. According to ACORN:
This bought Adam more time, safe in his flat. It meant so much to him to see members pile in to stand with him. We win when we stand together!
The Bristol branch tweeted that:
There’s no better feeling than joining together with your community and using collective strength to fight for what’s right, and win
People are struggling across the UK, as average rents increased last year by over 11%. People typically now spend almost half of their income on rent – so it’s no surprise people are struggling.
As more and more people are facing eviction, we need to come together and organise with people in our community.
ACORN are training people up in defending their members against evictions, so that successes like the one in Bristol can be repeated. Click here to find out where your local branch is.
Featured image via Acorn Bristol (with permission), cropped to 770×403
By Tom Anderson
