Angry renters took to their campaign to end the practice of ‘bidding wars’, where letting agents and landlords ask prospective tenants for bids above the advertised rent and then choose the highest one, directly to the agents on Saturday. Members of the community union Acorn mounted a noisy protest along the length of North Street from Ashton Gate to Bedminster, and filled letting agency offices with people calling for an end to the practice.
Acorn called on letting agents to sign a pledge promising to stop the so-called ‘bidding wars’, in the week after Bristol City Council condemned the practice and began looking at ways to ban it. The Acorn action took place on Saturday morning and saw around 20 tenants march from one estate agent office to the next, demanding the practice stop.
It was the second such action in the campaign, which was launched with a protest march in Church Road, Redfield, before Christmas. Some agencies who are already in negotiation with Acorn about signing the pledge were left alone, but others were visited by an Acorn deputation, while the majority of the campaigners staged noisy protests outside their offices.
