Your community, your updates

Welcome to the heart of Sittingbourne & Sheppey Residents Association. This is where you'll find the latest news, essential information, and upcoming events designed to keep you connected and empowered. We believe that an informed community is a strong community, and this page is dedicated to ensuring your voice is heard and your participation is valued.

SHAC Publish Blueprint for a National Housing Union

Blueprint Published for a National Housing Union

A major new blueprint has been published outlining plans for the creation of a National Housing Union that would bring together tenants, leaseholders and residents from across the UK into one democratic organisation.

Produced by SHAC (Social Housing Action Campaign), the document argues that the current housing system leaves residents facing a significant imbalance of power when challenging landlords, housing associations, managing agents and developers. From damp and mould to excessive service charges, unsafe buildings and poor complaint handling, the report highlights how individuals are often forced to fight complex housing disputes alone.

The proposed National Housing Union aims to change that.

Drawing heavily on the organising traditions of the trade union movement, the blueprint proposes a member-led organisation that would empower people to organise collectively, campaign locally and nationally, and access legal advice, advocacy and practical support. Rather than replacing existing tenants' associations and campaign groups, the union would work alongside them, providing additional resources, expertise and national coordination.

Membership would be open to tenants, leaseholders and residents across all housing sectors, including council housing, housing associations, the private rented sector and other forms of accommodation. The vision is to create a united movement capable of challenging poor housing standards, influencing government policy and holding landlords to account.

The blueprint also recognises housing as a fundamental trade union issue, arguing that insecure, poor-quality and unaffordable housing directly impacts workers, families and communities. It proposes close collaboration with the wider trade union movement to build the organisational strength needed to tackle the housing crisis at its roots.

For organisations like the Sheppey Social Residents Association (SSRA), the proposals represent an important contribution to the growing conversation about how residents can build collective power and secure meaningful change.

The full blueprint runs to 80 pages and offers a comprehensive roadmap for developing a democratic National Housing Union capable of giving tenants and residents the collective voice they have long been denied.

You can read it below:

Our Next Meeting

We’re holding our next Sittingbourne & Sheppey Residents Association (SSRA) meeting and you’re invited.

This is your opportunity to raise local concerns, hear updates on ongoing issues, and find out what action is being taken on behalf of residents. Whether it’s estate charges, planning matters, local services or wider community concerns — your voice matters.

Everyone is welcome.
If you care about our area, we’d love to see you there.

📍 Location: Castle Connections, Queenborough, ME11 5AY
📅 Date: Friday 12th June 2026
⏰ Time: 19:00

If you can’t attend but have something you’d like raised, please get in touch via our contact form.

Together, we’re stronger — and better informed.

Leasehold Reform in England & Wales – What SSRA Supports (and What Still Needs Fixing)

The UK Government has set out proposals to reform the leasehold system in England and Wales. The aim is to move away from what many campaigners describe as an outdated and unfair system where homeowners do not fully own the buildings they live in.

The proposals include measures such as capping ground rents, banning new leasehold flats, and encouraging the move to commonhold ownership. While these reforms are a step in the right direction, they do not yet go far enough to address the issues many residents face today.

Below is our summary of what we welcome and what still needs improvement.

What SSRA Supports

Ending new leasehold flats

The proposed reforms would ban most new flats being sold as leasehold, with commonhold becoming the default system instead.

Commonhold allows flat owners to own their property outright and collectively manage the building, removing the need for a separate freeholder.

SSRA supports this change. The leasehold system has long allowed third-party freeholders to profit from homes they do not live in, often with little accountability to residents.

Capping ground rents

The government has proposed capping ground rents at £250 per year, reducing to a peppercorn (effectively zero) after 40 years.

This would provide relief for many leaseholders currently paying escalating ground rents written into historic leases.

SSRA supports the principle of limiting these charges, as ground rent often provides no service or benefit to residents.

CONSULTATION RECOMMENDATIONS

Ending forfeiture

Current leasehold law allows a freeholder to ultimately forfeit a lease (take the home back) if charges remain unpaid.

The proposed reforms would abolish forfeiture and replace it with a fairer enforcement system.

SSRA strongly supports this change. Losing a home over relatively small debts is widely seen as disproportionate.

Greater regulation of managing agents

The government is also consulting on introducing mandatory qualifications for property managing agents.

For many residents, the managing agent – rather than the freeholder – is the source of the day-to-day problems around service charges, maintenance, and accountability.

Professional standards and stronger regulation are essential.

We completley support this, however we would also like to see a regulatory body for managing agents with proper powers to act if managing agents fall short in providing services to residents.

Where SSRA Believes Reform Falls Short

Existing leaseholders are still trapped

While new developments may move to commonhold, most existing leaseholders will remain in the leasehold system unless they collectively purchase the freehold or convert to commonhold.

In practice this can be expensive and complex, leaving millions of current leaseholders with limited benefit from reforms.

Ground rent cap still allows unfair charges

Although a £250 cap is an improvement, SSRA believes ground rent should ultimately be abolished entirely, not simply limited.

Ground rent is widely criticised because it is a charge paid without any service being provided.

Service charges remain largely unregulated

Service charges are often the largest financial burden on leaseholders, yet the reforms do not introduce a direct cap on them.

While transparency measures are planned, residents still face significant challenges in challenging excessive or poorly justified charges.

Timescales are slow

Many of the proposed changes could take years to come into force, with some measures expected around the end of the decade.

For residents already struggling with costs, this delay is deeply frustrating.

SSRA’s Position

The proposed reforms represent progress, but they are not the final solution.

SSRA believes the long-term goal should be:

🔹️The complete transition away from leasehold

🔹️Stronger rights for residents to control their buildings

🔹️Full transparency and accountability for managing agents

🔹️A fair and affordable route for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold

Residents deserve genuine ownership of their homes and meaningful control over how their buildings are run.

SSRA will continue to campaign for reforms that put residents first rather than investors and freeholders.

PLEASE CLICK THE CONSULTATION RECOMMENDATIONS BUTTON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNEMENT FOLLOWING THEIR CONSULTATION WHICH ENDED IN SEPTEMBER 2026