Water charges
In June 2021, Dennis Jones, a resident of St Martin’s Estate, approached High Trees with concerns that tenants on the estate had been historically overcharged for their water bills. This concern emerged when Lambeth Council announced they were issuing refunds to tenants, after discounts from Thames Water had not been passed on to them over many years. Despite the housing associations on St Martin’s Estate also neglecting to pass on water discounts and overcharging tenants, no refunds had been issued.
To address this, residents from St Martin’s Estate came together to campaign for housing associations to issue the refund they were owed. Through regular meetings, a petition and building alliances with local councillors, the campaign built momentum and led to housing associations beginning discussions about refunds with residents and the Tenants and Residents Association on the estate.
Eventually, the group were successful in securing the refund they were owed. This significant result would not have been possible without the tenacity and courage of people like Dennis and his neighbours organising around the issue to listen to each other, build their power and take collective action to stand up for their rights.