This afternoon, Acorn members undertook a Member Defence demonstration outside of Martin & Co. letting agency, Falmouth. This was following what Acorn describes as a consistent failure of Martin and Co. to deal with the abysmal state of a member’s residency.

This particular member had reached out to Acorn over the state of the mould in her residency, which caused her serious physical health issues. In her testimony on the state of her living situation, she described the way that the sheer state of the mould profoundly impacted her and her daughter’s quality of life. She also stated that a poorly-fitted cupboard within the residency’s kitchen had fallen on her, causing serious injury.

Cobblestone media spoke to Acorn members outside of Martin and Co.’s outlet in Falmouth. When asked about the nature and purpose of Member Defence actions, one member replied:

“A member will come to us and say they’ve got a problem with their landlord. They’re not being heard, they’re not having repairs done, or they’re being charged for things that they should have not been charged for.

So we decide to help them by using strength in numbers – we go in, which is what we’re doing today with Martin and Co., who are particularly difficult.”

The responsibility of letting agencies within the housing sector is to act as a “go-between” with landlords and their tenants, as well as to ensure the viability of a property before a tenant moves in. However, on a local level Acorn members have routinely reported failures of these letting agencies in fulfilling their duty of care to tenants – often leaving them vulnerable.

During the meeting with Martin and Co.’s Falmouth branch, the tenant was accompanied by other Acorn members, and supported by others outside of the building. After the meeting, one of the attendees from Acorn gave this statement:

“Acorn is here today in support of one of our members, who is currently living in an inhospitable tenancy.

The health and the health of her family have been compromised. And the communication from Martin and Co. has been completely substandard. All attempts to have the property checked over have been rebuffed, and miscommunication has been rife.

So we’re here today to get a solid answer from them and hope that we could organise a proper meeting in person to discuss what’s going to happen with this tenancy, and whether or not our member’s demands could be met.

In our meeting today, we were unable to confirm a meeting with Martin and Co. because they would like to receive a report from Environmental Health before they come into that meeting with us, so that they can have a third party checking over that property.

Though this isn’t what we were after, we did manage to get them to confirm to us that as soon as that report comes through, they will organize a meeting with one of their senior property managers, so that we can indeed go forward to discuss this case.”

After the meeting, Acorn members agreed to leave the premises of Martin and Co. They await a full assessment from Environmental Health, an independent body controlled by the local council.

When Cobblestone media reached out to Felicia Sampson, Martin and Co.’s Falmouth Director, she refused to offer any comment at this time.