Local estate agents back Butterfields tenants

photo Danny Byrne (Click to enlarge)

Waltham Forest Trades Council

Estate agents are not generally known to turn down business. And with the property market in Walthamstow, east London booming, tenants and supporters of Butterfields did wonder what kind of response they might get on their "estate agent crawl". This was to ask estate agents not to get involved in selling any flats in Butterfields if offered by their asset-stripping landlords.

Immoral and unjust

14 estate agents were visited, handed letters and tenants explained the issues. "It's immoral and unjust" they told the estate agents "for a company to buy 63 flats with the sole intention of turning the tenants out onto the streets."

One admitted to us they had been approached but refused business because they had heard of our campaign.

Others knew of the company as disreputable and would not touch them or had got involved and then withdrawn because it would damage their community standing.

One offered to help if we encountered trouble! Not one was hostile.

Foxtons, who had previously advertised one flat and received a strong protest letter from the tenants association, have now withdrawn the advert. What a result!

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