A rally to take place in Belfast will see calls for greater protections for renters from the “oppressive power” held by landlords, including a ban on evictions.
The gathering on Saturday is being held to highlight how security for renters is being “continually eroded” and people are facing evictions for reasons including demanding basic repairs to properties.
Organised by the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) alongside community groups, the rally will see participants meet at Dunville Park in the Falls Road area at 12.30pm before walking to Belfast City Hall.
CATU Belfast chair Hannah Gibson said: “Working class communities on the front lines of the housing crisis will shine a light on the destructive impact of evictions on tenants, their families and the wider community.
“For too long, private and social landlords have been allowed to evict tenants without cause.
“Private landlords evict their tenants for demanding basic repairs, asserting their legal rights or even attempting to question a rent increase.
“An eviction ban would empower tenants to challenge landlord power and offer protection from revenge evictions. The social rented sector once offered tenants far greater protection and security of tenure – but this is being continually eroded.”
The Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 was introduced to strengthen protections for private renters, but did not include any proposed ban on no-fault evictions.
Sean Doherty, of the Beechmount Residents Collective, said he had witnessed the impact of evictions “first hand”.
“Hundreds of people in my community in west Belfast have been forced out of their homes with nowhere to go,” he said.
“They end up in temporary accommodation halfway across the country, sleeping on the sofas of friends and family members or on the streets.
“We’re sending a clear message to the private and social landlords this weekend – we won’t let you evict us into homelessness and destroy our communities.”