Homes for Health Gorton

The project is establishing a Black-led tenants pressure group aimed at addressing challenges faced by Black Caribbean and African tenants who rent from private landlords in Gorton, Manchester. Many tenants in the community experience discrimination and unequal treatment in the housing market. Unfit conditions such as cold and damp are reported by local tenants and cause respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Many families are living in intergenerational households where there is overcrowding, which can lead to a spread of infection, to stress, anxiety, and sleep deprivation, which all negatively impact on physical and mental health. The project aims to hold private landlords to account and bring about changes in policy and practice to improve housing conditions and the health of private tenants.

CAHN’s Homes for Health project builds on three years of working constructively with housing providers in Greater Manchester to support tenants and raise awareness of issues with renting privately. Prior to Homes for Health, CAHN’s independent Advocacy service provided support to over 150 people since 2022 with over 70% of cases related to housing. It has supported on issues around tenancy rights, living conditions, repairs, anti-social behaviour, and rehousing.

The Homes for Heath project has talked to the local community to find out the most common issues among tenants and meets bi-monthly to advocate for tenants’ rights and promote equity in the private rented sector.

The project is advocating for the establishment of a Good Landlord Charter, which is a longstanding mayoral commitment in Manchester, now extended to include both social housing and private rented sector.

The project has created a tenants’ pressure group to engage private landlords, providing a strategic and collaborative approach to addressing the housing challenges faced by Black Caribbean and African tenants. Engaging with landlords directly, to advocate for tenants' rights helps promote equity and fairness.

Central to the project are empowering tenants with knowledge on housing rights and local conditions and building their confidence to engage in advocating for equitable housing outcomes. For example, a local tenant recently felt confident enough to contact the local authority when her landlord failed to address the issue of damp and mould in her house. They successfully engaged with the local authority to ensure her landlord resolved the issue.

Involving tenants from diverse Black backgrounds ensures that their specific needs are addressed. Through the organisation’s advocacy efforts, the ultimate aim is to promote proactive enforcement and management of housing standards by landlords, leading to improvements in housing conditions, security, and overall well-being for tenants.