Charlotte Dignam interviewed social housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa to discuss his campaign against poor living conditions (photo credit: Tom Oldham).
Kwajo Tweneboa fights for Britain’s poorest tenants by holding housing providers and the Government to account. Tweneboa particularly utilises social media; with an overall following of over 90,000 across online platforms, exposing the unimaginable conditions that people are forced to live in has gained extensive attention online.
Tweneboa’s aim to highlight the neglect that many renters face stems from his own experiences. In 2020, Tweneboa’s father became terminally ill with cancer and passed away at their home in Eastfields Estate in Mitcham, South London. Their flat, owned by one of the largest housing associations, Clarion, was damp, infested with insects and mice, and in need of major repairs – a ceiling was missing and water ran through light fixtures.
After repeated calls for Clarion to make the much-needed repairs were ignored, Tweneboa took on the housing association online, shaming them by sharing photos on social media of his living conditions, which were described as “unliveable”.
From then on, Tweneboa has sought to make meaningful changes to people’s lives and has met with various politicians, including Secretary of State for Housing, Michael Gove, and London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. In 2022, Tweneboa was described by The Big Issue as “Britain’s brightest social housing champion”.
Bringing About Real Change
After more than two years of tireless campaigning, Tweneboa explains that enacting real change is a primary motivator. Tweneboa’s grass-roots work has provided him with a first-hand insight into the dire and “slum-like” circumstances that people and families are living in. Consequently, he contends that the building of social housing and improving living conditions should be prioritised.
Taking a holistic approach, Tweneboa asserts that housing disrepair and insecurity extend beyond discomfort – mental and physical health conditions are likely to arise, which result in people taking time off work and children missing out on school, severely impacting their educational progress. Tweneboa talks of the moral aspect of housing and states, “As human beings, none of us would want to live in conditions like that. Yet what we’re learning is up and down the country, especially in the rental sector, we’ve got millions of people living in the conditions I highlight on a daily basis.”
Crucially, Tweneboa asserts that the term ‘housing emergency’ does not go far enough to depict the scale of the injustice that exists within the UK’s housing situation. “I think it’s a humanitarian one because it absolutely is a human right to have access to a decent and safe home. Yet, for so many across the UK, the sixth richest economy in the world, that simply is not the case.”
Tweneboa describes some situations that have particularly stuck with him, one being of a mother with breast cancer who was living in severe disrepair. His efforts were able to ensure that she was “moved into a place that she could call home and continue what was left of her life, but also in the knowledge that there’s something left for her son”.
Tweneboa also points to the cost-of-living crisis, which is placing the most vulnerable into deepening financial burden. By providing assistance to struggling families and helping to lift the weight off their shoulders, Tweneboa feels motivated to persist with his campaigning and restrict as many people as he can from falling through the cracks.
“To see families and parents actually feel relieved because their situations have been changed and they’re allowed to move on with their lives. I think that’s the real motivation for me.”
Putting Housing on the Agenda
Regarding government action, Tweneboa explains that there are various aspects within housing that need to be addressed. Aside from poor conditions, he states there are 1.4 million people on the social housing waiting list, there are 131,000 homeless children in England, and every eight minutes in the private rental sector, a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice is handed to a family, rendering them homeless. Moreover, he highlights that rent is unaffordable for many and in coastal areas, people are being pushed out of their hometowns at the hands of Airbnb and holiday lets.
Tweneboa states that we need long-lasting change, so advocates rent regulation policies. He asserts that if people are paying the majority of their salary in rent every month, on top of the cost-of-living crisis, they will never be able to save up a deposit and get on the property ladder.
“Voters are very aware of where the problems are. They are the ones with lived experience and they’re looking for politicians to fix it…what I want from politicians and at the next General Election is a common-sense approach…realising that housing is probably one of the biggest issues this country faces at the moment in regard to all the other social issues that follow on as a result.”
Tweneboa therefore expresses concern with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech at this year’s Conservative Party Conference – he believes that the omission of housing from the address was disappointing as a large-scale problem is being treated with little regard. “I would have thought if Rishi Sunak really wanted to win the next Election, he would have off the back of an issue like housing. And I say that because it’s an issue that affects absolutely every single individual up and down the country.”
Tweneboa labels many politicians as “out of touch” with everyday reality and criticises the Government for claiming to prioritise young people and their education despite failing to address core issues that are foundational to the housing crisis.
“Rishi Sunak had this big push at conference, saying how he’s invested in education…How can you possibly invest in education if there are 131,000 kids in England that haven’t got anywhere that they can actually call home? How do you expect them to excel in education? It’s a complete farce.”
“A lot of these kids, the 131,000 homeless kids, they’re from disadvantaged backgrounds as it is and the Government is disadvantaging them even more by not fulfilling their duties to build homes.”
Tweneboa hoped that a push for housing policy would have come from Michael Gove as he has taken him on visits to families living in poor conditions and has met with him in regard to the Social Housing Regulation Bill. Although Tweneboa has commended Michael Gove for some of his work in the past, housing now being placed on the back burner has made him feel disappointed for suffering families.
“I know that he, as a politician and the Secretary of State of Housing, is aware of the problems people face.”
Enforcing Accountability
Discussing the role online networks have played in his activism and influence, Tweneboa describes social media as a catalyst to his work, which has allowed him to see first-hand the differences made through shaming housing providers for the neglect their tenants face. He also encourages others to use social media so that they can get involved in sharing stories and voicing their opinions. As the prospects of a Labour Government have become more salient, Tweneboa also points to the importance of holding the Labour Party to account online by setting out future expectations.
Looking forward, Tweneboa says that along with highlighting the importance of housing, he seeks to prioritise the need to fix our public sector – “It doesn’t matter whether you’re Labour or Conservatives, you can’t build anything on broken foundations,” he states.
Following the next General Election, Tweneboa hopes to work closely with the newly elected Government and direct them to points of change that will benefit ordinary people. As a campaigner, his aim has and always will be to hold politicians and housing associations to account while striving to improve people’s lives – “We’ve had a huge divide between those in charge and those subject to policy decisions, but I think it’s about time that people really started holding those in charge to account,” Tweneboa concludes.