Protest held over state of Bristol's housing

A protest has been held at rising housing costs and a lack of suitable accommodation in Bristol.

People were asked to share their experiences of the difficulty in renting and buying at a demonstration organised by community union Acorn.

A group of about 60 people met on College Green on Wednesday night.

Bristol City Council said it supported action to improve conditions for renters and had been "pushing for renter reform for some time."

Among the protesters was 26-year-old Rowena Salmon who has been trying to find a place to rent in Bristol since May.

She has been staying with friends since relocating from Manchester because she is unable to secure a suitable home.

"It's a constant cycle and it's so exhausting trying to find somewhere affordable.

"There's so many problems when you're in that state of flux where you can't settle. It's dire.

"It's availability mainly because there's so much competition.

"You have to put so much energy and time into selling yourself for every room.

"The rents are going up so there's a small pool of people looking for the affordable rooms and the council are doing nothing to stop that," she said.

Niamh also took part in the protest to highlight her experience of a shortage of adapted accommodation for wheelchair users.

"Renting privately as a wheelchair user is impossible.

"There are no adapted flats and estate agents don't know anything about accessibility," she said.

The 27-year-old said she was on a housing waiting list for a year and lived on the top floor of a block of flats with no lift, meaning she could not go out independently or work.

"They need to build more adapted properties.

"I keep reminding everyone we're all just one bad accident or illness away from being disabled and there's not enough out there.

"No-one knows about this fight until it happens to you," she added.

Angus Paget, 23, has also had difficulty finding somewhere to live in Bristol.

"It's going awfully. It's really quite impossible to find anywhere to live.

"The only way to successfully get a tenancy is to bid higher than the asking price which for many people is already unmanageable."

Acorn Bristol head organiser, Ewan McLennan, said many renters had shared their "powerful and moving experiences" at the demonstration.

"Giving renters a voice, in public and out in the open rather than behind the locked doors of City Hall, was what we had hoped to get out of this, so we're really happy with outcome.

"I hope that this and the publicity it has received will force the council to finally start listening to the voice of renters and push them to come to terms with the scale of the renting crisis in our city that is driven by the greed of landlords," he added.

Bristol City Council's Living Rent Commission, launched in July, is exploring solutions to the city's housing issues.

Cabinet member for housing, Tom Renhard, said there were more than 18,500 households on its waiting list for social housing and 1,100 households in temporary accommodation.

He said rising rent costs and a lack of security in the private rented sector were the main reasons, and the council had lobbied central government for local powers to control the rental market.

"Over the past decade the cost of renting in the city grew by 52%, whilst wages only increased by 24% over the same period and current levels of inflation are far outstripping any growth in income.

"The spiralling costs mean housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable, pushing many further away from their place of work, family, and support networks.

"We have pushed for recognition that local powers are needed to control the rental market, including raising concerns of renters at a parliamentary select committee earlier this month."

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