New Oxford Renters’ group to fight ‘parasite’ landlords

Oxford Renters’ Union launched their first campaign on May 1, with a march through the city on May Morning, after forming the not-for-profit co-operative last November.

The union’s aim is to collectively resist rent increases and stop the ‘soaring’ rent costs in the city being decided by landlords alone.

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Strategically launching their campaign on the same day the Renters’ Rights Act took effect, the union is asking renting households to pledge to challenge their landlord if they attempt to increase their rent, by going to a tribunal.

The Act has made the campaign possible by ending ‘no-fault’ evictions, giving tenants the ability to complain to and challenge their landlords without the threat of losing their home.

Housing in Oxford (Image: Oxford City Council)

Maisie W, communications officer for the union, said: “Why should landlords get yet another pay rise by leeching off of my hard work?

“Why am I paying for my parasite landlords’ fancy cars and holidays when I can’t afford to have either?

“Housing should be a human right, and not a commodity. That’s why we’re asking you to resist your next rent increase.

“Resist on principal. Resist for yourself, and for the others in your community who can barely afford to live.”

Oxford Renters’ Union launched on May 1 with a march through the city (Image: Oxford Renters’ Union)

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Average monthly private rent went up across the England in the year to March 2026, up by 3.4 per cent to £1,434, according to data from the Office of National Statistics.

The data also revealed that Oxford paid the highest average rent of anywhere in the UK outside of London in March, at £1,952, up 6.9 per cent on the year before, more than double the average rent increase within that period in the rest of the country.

Oxford has also seen high and increasing numbers of people experiencing homelessness, with figures consistently going up over the past five years, and charities like Homeless Oxfordshire pointing to the ‘stark’ rental market picture for tenants.

Oxford Renters’ Union plan is to take private landlords who want to increase rents to tribunal, where they will ‘flood the hearing’ with pledges to demonstrate that the city’s ‘market rate’ is already too high and is still increasing.

The union also argues that overwhelming the tribunal with disputes will prolong the hearing’s processing time, keeping rents ‘lower for longer’.

It is part of a coordinated campaign being launched alongside other unions doing the same, including Resist Rent Rises, a network of unions including London Renters Union and Greater Manchester Tenants Union.

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Resist Rent Rises’ website said: “If your landlord is asking for extra rent when you can afford it least, you’re not alone.

“The cost of rent is out of control across the country, squeezing more and more of us out of our homes.

“Renters have the right to resist rent rises. We need to use those rights, or lose them.”