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as september looms ahead, the permanent working class residents of the holylands wait in fear national |
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news report
 Sunday August 11, 2002 22:20 by althea and donna - strictlyroots
 as september looms ahead, the working class permanent residents of the holylands, belfast wait in fear, as money grabbin slumlords cram as many as 10 students into each tiny 2up2down terrace house that they've converted into HMOs. tiny 2up 2 down terrace houses in the holylands are being converted into 5 bedroom death traps, which are a health hazards to both students and noise hazards to the permanent working class residents of the holylands. culchi slum lord out of towners and big buisness property developers are making millions to the detriment of the health and sanity of both students and permanent holyland residents. the working class permanent holyland residents who live in low rent housing executive and housing association properties are at their wits end every year as private slum lords cram as many as 10 students into 2up2down terraces charging as much as £750 a month rent. the practises of private slumlords are identical to that of notorious jailed bristol estate agent multimillionaire Vanhoggstraten who intimidated low rent working class residents out of their properties by moving in noisy, antisocial neighbours into adjacent properties in order to force out low rent tenants and buy up their subsequently vacant properties at a low cost. the working class permanent holyland residents are unique, they are a long standing mixed religion community, who have lived side by side for many years and whose only politics is that of working class solidarity. we need people to champion our cause and campaign against the property speculators and slumlords who are only intent on making profits to the detriment and the destruction of the unique belfast holylands community, at the end of the day, students are also suffering due to their cramped and unhealthy living conditions. |
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Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5Unfortunately this is happening all over the country - not just in Belfast, but in Derry, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and all of the rest of our towns and cities the length and breadth of our land. Greedy capitalist landlords raking in the money and making people live in squalor and misery. How many houses and other buildings have you seen in Dublin alone that have been let go to rack and ruin because the money grabbing landlords prefer to see a building go derelict and redevelop them to make massive profits rather than use them to house the people. We really need another nationwide, broad-based Housing Action Campaign like the one we had in the 60's and 70's urgently.
The housing action protests of the 1960s and 1970s had no effect because they were taken over by middle class clowns such as Eoghan Harris and his Workers Party cronies.
the practise of HMO slumlords who are turning 2up2down terraces into cramped 5 bedroom tips is responsible for the reemergence of rats in the holyland. rubbish bag mountains from as many as 10 drunken students per each tiny terrace, which are left out to fester in the back alleys are attracting rats from the nearby botanic gardens and the river lagan. drunken students who forget to leave out their rubbish on bin day, just leave their rubbish festering in the back alleys of the holylands attracting rats and roaches. this is of no concern to the private slumlords who dont give a fuk about the environment around their money making properties, the slum lords only concern is making as much money as possible out of guillible culchi students, who end up being crammed into 2up2down rat infested terrace houses, unable to study due to the noise from other drunken student neighbours
property speculators and private slumlords only adopted the HMO policy in the holylands belfast in 1999, prior to this slumlords were only allowed to rent the 2up2down terraces to a maximum of 3 students per house, and the rents for the 2up2down terraces were restricted to £320 per property, after slumlords adopted the HMO policy, they simply split the already small downstairs reception into 2 separate rooms, leaving one tiny reception and a front bedroom which allowed them to increase their rents to £450-£750 per property. i've seen 6 students crammed into a tiny 2up2down property, 2 sharing each tiny bedroom in order to be able to afford to pay the attrocious rent hikes. slumlords are getting away with murder, ripping off students and also torturing the working class permanent holyland residents who have to live next door to tiny 2up2down terraces crammed with 6 students.
know exactly what you are saying. i lived in the Holylands the last three years and the landlords are getting away with murder. personaly speaking i have lived in houses where landlords refused to have heating fixed during the winter, where the roof has fallen in due to bust pipes and flooded the ground floor and then at the slightest sign of dissent the landlords have threatened court action, which is of course stacked in their favour. i know of a case where a student late in paying rent was set up by a landlord, well known in the area, who entered the house and took photos of supposed damage she had inflicted upon the house (temporary damage of his making), produced the photos in court, who then crucified the tenant.the problem is not only the landlords but the impotence even collaboration of Queens university who regard the students as the landlords do; a means to a financial end. What is needed is for most students to cease being antisocial cretins and for residents and students to unite in direct action against a common enemy, the well respected businessmen who profit from our misery.