A lot of housing in the private rented sector is in an appalling state, and it's pretty hard for isolated tenants to get their landlord to make improvements. Here we publish the story of a tenant from a nearby town who contacted us during one of our Brighton housing disputes. It's a horror story in which the lettings agency forces the tenants to pay 6 months rent upfront, dismissing their complaints about unsafe living conditions with mental health slurs before dragging them to court for eviction. The account was written in the hope that it will encourage more tenants to come together to support one another, so we will no longer be isolated in the face of landlords who usually can count to have lettings agencies, lawyers, courts and often even councils on their side.

A lettings agency is facing a growing campaign by an aggrieved tenant supported by Brighton Solfed after refusing to pay back a holding deposit.  This Saturday saw Solfed redouble our efforts in a campaign aiming to get a tenant what she's owed – and show that ordinary people don't have to accept being ripped off by lettings agencies.