"My landlord wouldn't fix any of the issues that we sent him - until the next council inspection was due. Then suddenly he was very helpful 😂 Most renters in South Yorkshire don't get inspections - only if they live in HMOs. This should be the norm *for everyone*."

Joe, Sheffield

"My landlord wouldn't fix any of the issues that we sent him - until the next council inspection was due. Then suddenly he was very helpful 😂 Most renters in South Yorkshire don't get inspections - only if they live in HMOs. This should be the norm *for everyone*."

Joe, Sheffield

"Four years ago, I was renting a flat One night, two tall men who I didn’t know came to my door. They said they were from the letting agent, and were serving me with eviction, because I had smashed up my flat. But it was my ex boyfriend and I told them that. this ex was removed by the police, coz he was beating me. Clearly They didn’t believe me. I told them I had a copies of the police reports, which proved I was not responsible for the damage. Even though I was paying them over £1,000 a month in rent, and had police reports to prove I was the victim of domestic violence, they chose to believe my abusive ex-partner over me."

Grace, Rotherham

"Four years ago, I was renting a flat One night, two tall men who I didn’t know came to my door. They said they were from the letting agent, and were serving me with eviction, because I had smashed up my flat. But it was my ex boyfriend and I told them that. this ex was removed by the police, coz he was beating me. Clearly They didn’t believe me. I told them I had a copies of the police reports, which proved I was not responsible for the damage. Even though I was paying them over £1,000 a month in rent, and had police reports to prove I was the victim of domestic violence, they chose to believe my abusive ex-partner over me."

Grace, Rotherham

"When I first moved into Little London, I moved into a house that was facing a derelict site that was due to be done up by the landlords as part of the deal with the council. My landlady promised this would be happening really soon. But I walked out of my house one day, and stood staring up at the derelicts. There was no shielding on the windows or doors. It was just an empty shell you could walk into. I saw a group of children walking out of the derelict site. This was when there were still live electrics in there. I felt really scared for their welfare. It was at this moment that I realised the landlord had no intention of sorting out the derelicts. I realised the dangerous eye sore was there to stay. This felt incredibly depressing. Story of us (choice) I talked to my neighbour Tony, and asked why no one had formed a group to sort out the derelicts. He told me that this was an ambition of his as well. We formed the Big Power for Little London group. We had been ignored by the council for years. We weren’t prepared to be ignored anymore. So our group decided to do a public action. The day of the action, it was pouring with rain. But as we walked up the hill, the sound of the megaphone blaring, we created an atmosphere that charged my legs and made me feel powerful. We had created a bubble of confidence around ourselves. It was a fantastic feeling. Seeing the Town Hall come into view over the brow of the hill, I realised this was the moment where our community was going to finally get recognised. Story of now (outcome) I was soaked to the bone, getting quite cold. But almost immediately once we arrived at the town hall, Chris Read, the leader of the council, came out himself, in just a suit. No raincoat. He committed to coming to our estate and seeing the derelicts for himself. Now we have an established relationship with Chris and the Council, and meet every 2 months. These are our meetings. We set the agenda. We chair them. It’s our fight. We’re already seeing improvements in our homes and on our estate as a result. But the derelicts are still standing, and we’re calling on Oliver Coppard to act on his commitment to support us. If a small rag tag bunch of Little Londoners can do it, imagine what we could achieve if we work together."

Mickey, Maltby

"When I first moved into Little London, I moved into a house that was facing a derelict site that was due to be done up by the landlords as part of the deal with the council. My landlady promised this would be happening really soon. But I walked out of my house one day, and stood staring up at the derelicts. There was no shielding on the windows or doors. It was just an empty shell you could walk into. I saw a group of children walking out of the derelict site. This was when there were still live electrics in there. I felt really scared for their welfare. It was at this moment that I realised the landlord had no intention of sorting out the derelicts. I realised the dangerous eye sore was there to stay. This felt incredibly depressing. Story of us (choice) I talked to my neighbour Tony, and asked why no one had formed a group to sort out the derelicts. He told me that this was an ambition of his as well. We formed the Big Power for Little London group. We had been ignored by the council for years. We weren’t prepared to be ignored anymore. So our group decided to do a public action. The day of the action, it was pouring with rain. But as we walked up the hill, the sound of the megaphone blaring, we created an atmosphere that charged my legs and made me feel powerful. We had created a bubble of confidence around ourselves. It was a fantastic feeling. Seeing the Town Hall come into view over the brow of the hill, I realised this was the moment where our community was going to finally get recognised. Story of now (outcome) I was soaked to the bone, getting quite cold. But almost immediately once we arrived at the town hall, Chris Read, the leader of the council, came out himself, in just a suit. No raincoat. He committed to coming to our estate and seeing the derelicts for himself. Now we have an established relationship with Chris and the Council, and meet every 2 months. These are our meetings. We set the agenda. We chair them. It’s our fight. We’re already seeing improvements in our homes and on our estate as a result. But the derelicts are still standing, and we’re calling on Oliver Coppard to act on his commitment to support us. If a small rag tag bunch of Little Londoners can do it, imagine what we could achieve if we work together."

Mickey, Maltby

"My rent is about over a third of my overall income. I think this is pretty high considering I live in a home that is a risk to mine and my children’s health. I pay this rent every month, and they don’t spend a penny on making my home decent. I had a leak on my roof for three years. I had water gushing through my roof whenever it rained. I also had no carbon monoxide or smoke alarms. Me and my daughters could’ve died because they hadn’t done what was required by law. The mould was also really bad. One school night my youngest daughter woke up screaming. She thought the black mould on the wall was a monster that was going to eat her. She was crying for ages. She woke up her sister. It took hours to get her back to sleep. It kills you when you can’t do anything to help your kids. I’d go through a brick wall for my daughters. I’m sure all you parents here today feel the same. I decided to stop paying my rent for 3 months. I said to them “why should I pay my rent when I have water pouring through the ceiling?” This is what it took to give them a kick up the backside and sort my roof out. I didn’t get kicked out, which shows we can stand up to our landlords. I also decided to get involved with Big Power for Little London. I’m doing it for my kids. I want them to have a decent place to live. Landlords shouldn’t be able to charge whatever they feel like, regardless of the condition of the property. We need controls on rents, to reign in slum landlords, and give tenants more power. "

Simon, Rotherham

"My rent is about over a third of my overall income. I think this is pretty high considering I live in a home that is a risk to mine and my children’s health. I pay this rent every month, and they don’t spend a penny on making my home decent. I had a leak on my roof for three years. I had water gushing through my roof whenever it rained. I also had no carbon monoxide or smoke alarms. Me and my daughters could’ve died because they hadn’t done what was required by law. The mould was also really bad. One school night my youngest daughter woke up screaming. She thought the black mould on the wall was a monster that was going to eat her. She was crying for ages. She woke up her sister. It took hours to get her back to sleep. It kills you when you can’t do anything to help your kids. I’d go through a brick wall for my daughters. I’m sure all you parents here today feel the same. I decided to stop paying my rent for 3 months. I said to them “why should I pay my rent when I have water pouring through the ceiling?” This is what it took to give them a kick up the backside and sort my roof out. I didn’t get kicked out, which shows we can stand up to our landlords. I also decided to get involved with Big Power for Little London. I’m doing it for my kids. I want them to have a decent place to live. Landlords shouldn’t be able to charge whatever they feel like, regardless of the condition of the property. We need controls on rents, to reign in slum landlords, and give tenants more power. "

Simon, Rotherham

"A few years ago, I got back from holiday and opened my front door to a swimming pool - three inches of water, covering the whole of the downstairs. This was a moment when my heart just sank. Teeth marks through the blue pipe coming out the back of my washing machine revealed the culprit was rats. My house was infested with rats. Over the next few weeks, I killed 16 of them in my kitchen. My house was already damp and mouldly, and the great flood made the situation much worse. I had to work really hard, and spent lots of money to make my home safe for my family to live in again. I knew rat infestations were the landlord's responsibility, but I decided to deal with this all by myself. When I realised damp and mould was being caused by holes in the roof, I sorted out a new roof myself. I felt like I couldn't speak out because of no-fault evictions."

Arran, Maltby

"A few years ago, I got back from holiday and opened my front door to a swimming pool - three inches of water, covering the whole of the downstairs. This was a moment when my heart just sank. Teeth marks through the blue pipe coming out the back of my washing machine revealed the culprit was rats. My house was infested with rats. Over the next few weeks, I killed 16 of them in my kitchen. My house was already damp and mouldly, and the great flood made the situation much worse. I had to work really hard, and spent lots of money to make my home safe for my family to live in again. I knew rat infestations were the landlord's responsibility, but I decided to deal with this all by myself. When I realised damp and mould was being caused by holes in the roof, I sorted out a new roof myself. I felt like I couldn't speak out because of no-fault evictions."

Arran, Maltby