Brand Vaughan Make a Legal Threat Against a Student Tenant: Solidarity Federation’s Campaign Intensifies

Brighton lettings agency Brand Vaughan is facing a growing campaign by Solidarity Federation, after the agency deducted £390 from the deposit of a student tenant for cleaning and redecoration. The tenant left her room clean, and the deductions made by the agency contain a number of problems, including not evidencing an attempt to procure the most reasonable deal, as they should, and not all of the deductions being sufficiently costed. Moreover, the tenant reported serious concerns regarding the behaviour of her housemates to the agency during her tenancy, which was pertinent to the issues that the agency claim require deposit deductions, and which was the source of a great deal of distress for the tenant, who had to move out because of them.

Support the Polish Postal Workers Join the Picket in Manchester

Manchester Solidarity Federation will be organising a picket of the Polish Consult on Friday 2nd March starting at 2pm. The Picket is in support of Polish postal workers who have been involved in a two year campaign aimed at improving pay and conditions supported by the ZSP-IWA union. As a result they are facing increasing repression. Following nation-wide protests, the government-owned postal office have sought to silence protesting workers and fired several of the organisers. In addition, they have brought a series of bogus criminal cases against members of our sister union, the ZSP-IWA, who have supported the self-organised campaign of postal workers. SolFed-IWA is in solidarity with postal workers in Poland. Stop state repression of workers now! An injury to one is an injury to all!

Manchester Picket in Support of Brighton Tenant

Manchester Solidarity Federation organised a picket of Thornley Grove Letting Agency in support of a Brighton tenant. The tenant has been organising with Brighton SolFed after deductions were made from her joint tenancy deposit, despite the fact the tenants left the property in a clean condition. The deductions were unreasonable, not properly costed and, on top of this, service from the agency was poor throughout her tenancy.

Manchester Solfed organised the picket of Thorney Grove as it is a sister company of Brand Vaughan, the Brighton letting agency that had deducted £390 from the tenant’s deposit. Both companies are part of a UK capital investment company, Lomond Capital, which owns 34 UK letting agencies. In total Lomond Capital manages residential properties worth £2.7 billion and sells £600 million worth of property every year.

G4Lets campaign covered in student paper

This week's Badger - the student newspaper at Sussex university - reported on our campaign against the G4 Lets. The agency - who specialise in renting to students made a group of students live in squalid conditions, the responsibility for which the local council’s Environmental Health Report placed firmly on the shoulders of the lettings agents. The tenants had to live in mice-infested, unsafe accommodation for a year, and then had £2000 illegitimately deducted from their deposit for these costs. Here we reproduce the full account written by one of the tenants, as well as our response to claims G4 Lets make in the article.

Stop state repression of postal workers in Poland!

A campaign for better pay and working conditions by Polish postal workers supported by the ZSP-IWA union is facing increasing repression. Following nation-wide protests, the government-owned postal office have sought to silence protesting workers and fired several of the organisers. In addition, they have brought a series of bogus criminal cases against members of our sister union, the ZSP-IWA, who have supported the self-organised campaign of postal workers.

In solidarity with postal workers in Poland, SolFed-IWA is calling for protests on Monday 26. February in London, Tuesday 27. February in Edinburgh, and Friday 2. March in Manchester. Stop state repression of workers now! An injury to one is an injury to all!

Brighton Solidarity Federation opens a dispute with Town and City Residential Lettings

Brighton Solidarity Federation has started a dispute with Town and City Residential Lettings, operating out of English Business Park, near Hove Cemetery. A tenant has been organising with SolFed after the agency failed to address severe mould and damp issues, which the tenant lost several belongings to, and then took the cost of necessary refurbishment and repair out of the tenant’s deposit. The tenant, a single mother dealing with anxiety, has suffered repeated harassment and bullying by the agency. This has come to a climax with the agency demanding at first £200 from the tenant’s deposit, arbitrarily raising this figure to £780, and then making a final, ludicrous demand for £1030.

Public Campaign Against Brand Vaughan Continues

A tenant has been organising with SolFed after deposit deductions were made from their joint-tenancy deposit, despite the fact they left the property in a clean condition. The deductions were unreasonable, not costed in enough detail, and, on top of this, service from the agency was poor throughout her tenancy. This even included not being provided keys when locks were changed during the tenancy.


Brand Vaughan’s response to the demands for £390 to be returned from the deposit, and for £541 compensation, has included making legal threats, as well as claiming that the problems with the tenancy were not their responsibility. The landlord of the property is in-fact Tom Ghibaldan, chief executive of Brand Vaughan. Deposit deductions claimed by Brand Vaughan were in the service of their own chief executive.

Youngs agency: another horror story emerges

As the public campaign continues to grow, Brighton Solfed are being contacted by other local people who have had similar experiences of the mismanagement of properties by Youngs. In one instance, there were distressing and disruptive consequences for the everyday lives of a couple and their son.
A family living in Kemptown had to suffer raw sewage flowing through their home after unidentified damage to a pipe from flats above - and Youngs failed to investigate the damage until after that their floorboards were sodden and underfloor troughs were filled with dirty water.