Edinburgh has 28,500 "amenity deficient" houses without baths and hot water. Most of these are concentrated in Leith, the city's sea port. The figure, produced in 1967 does not include houses due for demolition that year; most are still here today, so you can add another 3000 slums to the total.
Ferrier Street is one of the slum streets. Hard up against the railway line, its drab crumbling tenements were sold by British Rail a few years ago to the Westholme Property Company Ltd of Glasgow, one of their directors is the Glasgow Sherrif. Their memorandum of association states that they were to "carry on business as bankers, capitalists etc"
In pursuing their aims as capitalists they are exploiting the housing shortage in Edinburgh. Young couples and others who cannot get a council house have to buy a tenement sium and hope to get rehoused. Some chose Ferrier St. John Laing, the agent for Westholme, generously helps by offering the house for a deposit of £20£50 and so much a month...but they don't give you the title deeds. These aren't available till you've paid off the house. If you fall behind a month you lose everything. Its rent really, but it gets out of the rent act. Some of the streets occupants are real tenants, some have never got a rent book, others have had their family allowance book taken away till they pay their rent. Needless to say repairs have been done. A demolition order has been hanging over the street for years. Westholme is making what it can whilst there is still There are also about 10 or 12 squatter families in the street. They have kicked in a door, moved in and offered to pay rent. The landlord however, doesn't want rent, he wants them to buy (much better for tax and clearance compensation). He wants a £60 deposit to start with.
Things came to a head when several families were due to be evicted. One family was actually evicted by bailiffs, but Sandy Ross, a young solicitor's Clark, pointed out that the eviction order was for someone else and persuaded them to put all the furniture back! (Evictions are a common occurrence in Ferrier Street, bailiffs simply leave all the furniture in the street-whether its raining or not).
A meeting in the street was called and the whole area leafletted (see photo). At this meeting necessity for a strong community organisation was explained and a provisional committee set up. A collection was made to pay for legal action against the landlord to prevent further evictions and this was successful.
Since then several meetings have been held in the nearby community centre, and the South Leith Tenants and Residents Association has been born. These meetings have attracted plenty of councillors who are prepared to talk, and do nothing. and so the latest meeting of 50 people decided that the Association should put up their own candidate for the local council Mrs Hilda Stevenson the chairman.
This idea was eventually dropped, but there are still plenty of things to do, such as getting rid of the rats and mice, getting repairs done, taking the landlord to court for illegal evictions and no rent books The Association is having to work hard to end old antagonisms between owneroccupiers, tenants and squatters, all are gradually realising that they are in the same boat.
TOM WOOLEY (information about tenants action in Edinburgh from: S. Ross, 20 Spey Terrace, Edinburgh 6