Members Liz and her neighbour Hugh worked together to win repairs from Hugh’s landlord so they could both live decent lives in their stair.  In Hugh’s flat, there was a huge crack in his ceiling, which started to collapse in November 2024. The landlord put up scaffolding in his kitchen a month later, and then two months after that eventually repaired the roof. Even still, repairs to his ceiling weren’t carried out for over a year.  Even worse, the landlord didn’t carry out repairs to the pipes, so Liz’ flat was flooded from above three times. One time, raw sewage was flooding into Liz’ flat, and the emergency plumber couldn’t stop the flood because the stopcock was so rusty.  Hugh’s landlord, DJ Alexander, refused to put down carpets or insulation between their flats, and hadn’t fixed the loose floorboards. Music played quietly in Hugh’s living room, drawers opening and closing, or any footsteps could be heard clearly from Liz’ flat.  Liz and Hugh know they both deserve better. All these issues caused Liz so much stress, Liz suffered from a mini stroke in May this year. Alongside fellow Newington members, Hugh and Liz negotiated with DJ Alexander, and won carpets, repairs to the floorboard, preventative maintenance to the pipes, so everyone can rest easy that flooding won’t happen again, and both neighbours can continue living in peace. 

Around 40 members of Living Rent’s tenants’ and community union disrupted Glasgow City Council’s State of the City Economy conference to protest underinvestment in the city’s communities. This conference was attended by leaders of the tourism industry and politicians including Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken and First minister John Swinney.  This action was part of our union’s campaign to demand the council invest revenue from its 5% tourist tax into public services rather than ringfencing the funds for tourism and marketing. Glasgow’s visitor levy will be implemented from 2027 and is expected to raise over £16 million per year. The council intends to invest in initiatives that benefit the tourism industry such as the SEC, reimbursing AirBnB landlords and marketing the city. However, Living Rent members say money should be used to bring Strathclyde’s bus network back into public control and to establish a new publicly-owned bus company for the region. Our members have made several attempts to engage with councillors about the proposals. Susan Aitken’s constituents in our Shawlands branch have written to her, asking to meet with us. She has refused any meetings. Shawlands members have attended constituency surgeries trying to speak to her. She did not attend those surgeries. Our union requested representation on the city-wide visitor levy forum. We were blocked from participating. Having exhausted all means of trying to formally meet her, we staged a peaceful protest interrupting her opening address at the City Council’s State of the City Economy conference. Upon entering the conference, our members were met with a disproportionate response from GCC’s security, who were aggressive, even punching one of our members and had another in a headlock. Members who did manage to get through, peacefully marched through the hall to highlight the issues we face, including sky high rent and bills, expensive and unreliable buses and crumbling public services. They expected to have a wee jolly about how to make the city work for them, but we rained on their parade and demanded the city works for us. We are sick of GCC prioritising the interests of big business and profiteers instead of investing in the public services that Glasgow residents want and need. We’re happy that as result of our intervention, Susan Aitken has subsequently agreed to meet with us and we hope that she fulfils that promise. Our buses are operated by over 40 private operators, and we have the highest fares in the UK. Edinburgh’s publicly-owned Lothian buses charge £2.20 for an Adult Single compared to £3.10 here. In return for this premium, we receive unreliable services, limited routes, and double charges due to lack of integration between our transport services. Our solution is to bring the buses back into public ownership, and there is a groundswell of support for our demands. A recent SPT consultation found that 83% of constituents in the Strathclyde region support proposals for a municipal bus system. Indeed, the SNP pledged to transition Glasgow to a publicly owned bus system during the 2022 council elections. Susan Aitken has talked up the ‘positive change’ in the Glasgow pointing to the renovation of George Square; new hotels and luxury developments in the city centre, global brands and big banks moving into the city centre; and the council setting up a ‘destination marketing organisation’, whatever the purpose of this vague entity is. But our city’s challenges are not vague, they’re pretty straightforward. We have an astonishing lack of affordable housing, an inefficient and expensive public transport network, underfunded schools, and rubbish all over the streets among a litany of other issues we face day to day. Yet the council persistently fails to address any of these issues. Susan Aitken may deride us as part of the collective of these ‘individuals, often politically motivated, who publicly run Glasgow down’ but we know it is the GCC who are running Glasgow down by failing to invest in public services which badly need it. We badly need a functioning bus service. Half of our city doesn't own a car, and as bus users we all have experiences of being let down by the service here. Whether it’s having to wait 30 mins for the next bus; using multiple bus routes to get from one part of the city to another; paying for multiple tickets because the buses aren’t under the same company; or having to choose even more expensive means of travelling because of our unreliable buses. Worse is that the private bus companies continue to profit from this unreliable and inefficient service. The council needs to fund a public bus system which supports the working class people of this city to move around more easily and cheaply. On top of that, a publicly owned bus service would also bring ticket revenues back into the city and would likely discourage car usage to make the city less congested and greener. The private companies profiting from our commutes are to blame for this, and we urgently need the council to make a public bus system which supports working class people to get around. This way, we’d be safer, revenues would go back into the city, and there would even be less congestion.” The current bus network is a rip-off and the irony is, a publicly run service wouldn’t just benefit our communities, but it would actually better serve the tourists who the GCC are so eager to attract to our city.  Our members aren’t willing to see the revenue from the tourist tax be plundered by big business and marketing quangos. Let’s use the tourist tax to bring our publicly owned buses back.

After leaks that caused Jasper’s ceiling to collapse, union power won repairs and compensation for Council tenant! Lochend member Jasper moved his high rise flat in 2021 and reported mould and leaks to the council in 2023, but his persistent emails to the council were ignored. In June 2025, his ceiling collapsed.  The mould in his flat and his collapsed ceiling caused him a range of health issues and led to him being signed off from work.  Jasper, along with members of the tenants’ union Living Rent, who are representing him, protested outside Edinburgh Council’s southeast office to demand compensation.  Jasper says: “Edinburgh Council is the worst landlord I’ve ever had.  “It’s not just one bad housing officer who doesn’t listen but seems to be a pattern amongst council staff of ignoring complaints and lying to avoid taking any responsibility. They don’t care.  “I feel ignored, neglected and hopeless.   “Constantly chasing the council to do their jobs is exhausting and I don’t want to live like this, nothing I say or do seems to matter to them and yet I’m still expected to pay rent increases whenever they demand it.  “This just isn’t fair.”  Mighty Living Rent members descended on the South East Locality offices, and got a negotiation, where the Locality Head agreed to a full assessment of the mould, and complete repairs to Jasper’s home. 

On Saturday 8th November, members of Living Rent Lochend held a community day at Craigentinny Community Centre to launch their campaign for safer roads in Lochend. Local councillors were in attendance and heard testimonies from locals about their experience with road accidents in the area as well as proposed solutions to prevent further danger to pedestrians and cyclists. Continue reading

Members in Aberdeen successfully negotiated with Winchesters Lettings to stop the imminent eviction of our member Ripley and secured an £800 rent refund!  Aberdeen members Tracy and Tally tell you all about it below... Continue reading

We had a long standing issue with our windows, which were in a state of disrepair. This meant that wind was blowing in our flat, the window frames were rotted and covered in mold and the mold had spreaded to the areas close to the windows. Due to this, our flat was very cold and damp. Our letting agency and landlords were both aware of this issue and had promised to hold increasing the rent until the necessary repairs had been made. Regardless of our written agreement with the landlords and the agency, our rent was increased over 30% during tenancy swaps. With a help from Living Rent, we wrote a letter to the landlords, which lead to a negotiation with the letting agency. Three months aftrer the negotiation, we won our case and all the windows were replaced.  

While the West of Scotland Thistle Awards celebrated the local tourism industry, a large queue had formed outside, emulating a sight familiar to many: that of waiting for a bus that will never come. This is how Living Rent branches in Glasgow, alongside Get Glasgow Moving campaigners kickstarted our new campaign to demand upcoming tourism tax revenues are directed to fund publicly owned buses. Dressed as workers and tourists, demonstrators held signs condemning our broken bus network and demanding better from those in power. The 5% visitor levy which will be introduced in 2027 is estimated to raise 16 million per year. As a community union, we have long campaigned to improve living conditions for everyday Glaswegians and know this sum presents a perfect opportunity to invest in quality public services. Instead, the council is planning to use this money to further develop tourism in our region. Funding tourism while we struggle to make full use of our city due to unaffordable and unreliable bus networks shows the council is more interested in accommodating tourists than residents. A new report from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) shows less than a fifth of users are satisfied with our bus network (Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy - Final Draft for Approval).  We know there is a different way, with franchising models showing the success of reinvesting back into the network. The Scottish Government holds franchising powers from June 2025, but there is little indication of when this could become a reality in Glasgow.  With next year's Commonwealth Games happening in Glasgow, our city is set to see a significant increase in visitors who will no doubt be left underwhelmed by Glasgow’s impractical, expensive and slow services. Indeed, franchising would not only benefit Glaswegians, but also tourists trying to get to know our city. As a city, we should be striving to attract tourists because Glasgow is effectively run and well connected, rather than spending money on tourist infrastructure expressly designed for them.  Affordable and reliable transport is at the heart of a liveable city. Buses connect people with their loved ones, places of employment, leisure and commerce. People on low incomes, disabled people and women are more likely to rely on buses to get by. Despite their importance, the quality of buses has declined sharply since they were deregulated in the 1980s and 1990s. In Glasgow we have seen how private operators have run buses to reap profits rather than to serve people’s needs. Local communities have had routes cut with more profitable services favoured instead. Every year, the price of tickets reaches a new high, all the while, shareholders are reaping the rewards of privatisation.  Cities across Scotland and the UK have had franchising in place for years, it is absurd that a city the size of Glasgow, is still lagging behind in this regard. We find it logical that the tourist tax should be used to support franchising and improve our buses once for all, four residents and tourists alike. Sign our petition to demand that: The money generated from the tourist tax should help speed up the reintroduction of public buses in the city.  The tourist tax revenue should  be used to fund Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) in the establishment of a publicly- owned bus service (under a franchising model).

After a decade of fighting, Living Rent members have pushed the government to pass rent controls! For a decade, Living Rent members have been taking action, talking to politicians, appearing in the press, knocking on doors, gathering signatures, and growing in numbers to demand rent controls which stop rents from skyrocketing and protect tenants in our homes. Ahead of the vote, we staged our biggest rally yet outside the Scottish Parliament, a massive show of support for rent controls. Last week, MSPs in parliament voted to pass the Housing Bill and with it, rent controls. This bill would not exist without the organised work of Living Rent members. It caps rent increases between tenancies, clamps down on disrepair, and strengthens joint tenancy rights.It is the power of ordinary people standing up for what they believe in, working together, and refusing to give up, that has made this happen.And yet, this victory is still far from the real changes that we need. The rent controls proposed are the bare minimum, and many of us will find ourselves left unprotected. Now as ever, we need to come together to defend ourselves from unfair treatment and put power back in the hands of tenants.The tireless work of unions has improved our lives through increased wages, the right to vote, sick pay, holiday pay and weekends - we aren’t going to stop now.Join the fight for stronger rent controls and continue our fight for rents that we can afford.