A planned protest in support of a woman who had been waiting months for her deposit to be repaid has been called off after the landlord finally stumped up the cash. ACORN member, Aelisha Dickson, was paying £1,300 a month for a basement studio flat, but left the property two months ago she claimed the landlord failed to fix a huge leak.
At the beginning of December Ms Dickson still had not had her deposit returned. She said she also had not been given any compensation for the costs of having to purchase a dehumidifier and wet vacuum to deal with the leak which left her carpet so wet that she had to wear shoes in the house to avoid getting soaking wet feet.
Fed up of waiting for the money, Ms Dickson contacted ACORN and was joined by a group of their housing activists who staged a protest outside the former landlord’s shop in Easton. After the protest on December 6 and several phone calls to Ms Dickson’s landlord he promised to pay all the money owed to her within seven working days.
But after those seven days she had still not received the money. In response, ACORN announced members would return to the shop for another protest on Wednesday, December 18 at 3pm. But by the morning of December 18, the landlord had paid the money he owed her in full.
In response to the positive outcome of the community union’s intervention, Bristol organiser Sam said: “Our members, in supporting Ms Dickson, showed that landlords must treat tenants with dignity and respect. After a month of kicking the can down the road he has paid Ms Dickson the £3,500 he owed her.
“This is a huge win not just for Ms Dickson and ACORN but for all renters. ACORN members do not give up. Landlords like this must face up to the fact that their actions have consequences. When we come together, we win.”