National Housing Union for Tenants to launch in 2026.
Campaigners are preparing to launch a national housing union this year, saying it will give social and private renters, and leaseholders, the strength to challenge poor conditions and rising rents. Suzanne Muna, the Secretary of the Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) said the aim is to create something that will ‘reshape the landscape’. An overtly left of centre, project, Ms Muna believes tenants are being left to fend for themselves in unsafe and insecure accommodation while those with power look away, not an observation most residential landlords would necessarily agree.
Writing in The Big Issue, Ms Muna argues that government ministers ‘frame the crisis as one of supply alone, when it is in fact a crisis of affordability’.
She says many households are stuck in ‘insecure, unsuitable, dilapidated, overcrowded, accommodation’, accusing the government of being too close to large private developers and corporate social landlords’ and that “The developer’s goal is to maximise surpluses and profits, and their power is supreme.”
Ms Muna warns that social housing providers are reportedly turning down poor applicants because they can’t afford the rent.
“Tenants have no power”
There’s also an issue with social landlords having permission to raise rents by CPI plus 1% for the next decade which will bring social rents closer to private market rents.
Ending Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions through the Renters’ Rights Act is ‘a very small step’, and leasehold reform ‘has faltered in the face of freeholder resistance’, she says. Ms Muna also fears that Awaab’s Law has failed to deliver the promised improvements and the law should cover private renters.
Backed by unions
The housing union will offer support like a trade union, providing casework and neighbourhood organising, alongside national campaigning. It intends to unite people, whether they rent from councils, housing associations or private landlords.
Rather than rely on landlords or politicians, SHAC plans to seek backing from the wider union movement. The group says workplace unions have the resources and networks needed to build a national force for housing justice. This initiative marks a significant shift in housing activism, moving from localized protest groups toward a formalized, national trade-union model for residents.
The movement, led by the Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC), is built on the premise that the housing crisis is not just a lack of houses, but a massive imbalance of power between those who provide housing and those who live in it. Key parts of the new campaign have been announced as follows:
-
The Affordability Crisis: Campaigners argue that the government focuses on “supply” while ignoring that new builds are often unaffordable. They highlight the trend of social landlords rejecting low-income applicants who cannot meet affordability checks.
-
Declining Conditions: Despite legislation like Awaab’s Law, many tenants remain in “dilapidated and unsafe” homes. The union aims to give these individuals the legal and collective weight to force repairs.
-
Legislative Gaps: While the Renters’ Rights Act aims to end Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, SHAC views this as a “very small step” that doesn’t address the core issue of rising rents (CPI + 1% increases).
-
Leaseholder Stagnation: Reform for leaseholders has slowed due to pushback from freeholders, leaving many in a state of financial and legal limbo.
How the Union Will Function
Unlike traditional advocacy groups, this union intends to mirror the workplace union model
-
Casework & Support: Providing individual assistance for members facing eviction, disrepair, or unfair rent hikes.
-
Neighborhood Organising: Creating local chapters to tackle issues specific to certain estates or buildings.
-
Cross-Sector Unity: Uniting private renters, social tenants, and leaseholders under one banner to prevent landlords from “playing groups off” against each other.
-
Labor Movement Backing: By partnering with established trade unions, the housing union gains access to existing networks, funding, and political influence.
It remains to be seen what the government or the wider union movement makes of all this. Ms Muna is an active member of The Socialist Party and a member of The Unite Union Executive Council.
Matthew Dean 4 January 2026.
0 Comments