There’s a rent strike event in London all weekend

Activities include BBQs, Banner-Making and How to Deal with the Media


A Rent Strike training event is to be held over the weekend in South London. There will be training sessions, activities as well as one or two social events spread across the weekend. Organisers of ‘Rent Strike: Weekender’, claim that the event will help to give rent-strikers the skills and know-how to spread the rent strike movement across universities nationwide. It comes off the back of UCL Cut the Rent’s successful rent strike against the University.

Rent Strikers are coming from all over the country this weekend to discuss how to “transform a spark of a local movement into national collective action.”

The event will include workshops, skill share activities and social events in order to encourage a comradely spirit among university activists fighting for lower rents in university-run accommodation. Organisers hope that the event will also encourage students to start their own rent strikes at other universities.

Some of the workshops offered this weekend include how to plan an offensive, how to deal with the media and how to get maximum attention from demonstrations. They’re even hosting a banner-making activity is planned to take place on the Sunday.

To top off a weekend of sticking two fingers up at the establishment, there’s a party on the Saturday night (tickets are £3) until the early hours and a BBQ on Sunday afternoon (presumably weather-permitting).

A March organised by Cut the Rent; an effigy of Vice-Provost Rex Knight (pictured) was subsequently burned on Euston Road

A month ago, the National Union of Students (NUS) officially backed student rent-strikes across the country after facing criticism for not doing enough to support rent-strike movements. Back in July, UCL Cut the Rent secured a rent cut from the University following a six month rent-strike in order to get UCL to lower the rent it charges.

It began when activists withheld rent, arguing that the amount charged for its Halls of Residence was “extortionate”. The event can be found on Facebook