Fury over secret recording of landlords joking about using renters as ‘target practice’

Renters from the Acorn tenants union have branded comments made at a landlord conference as “out of order” after a secret recording captured landlords suggesting they are “used as target practice”.

An audio recording confirmed to have been made at the Eastern Landlords Association (ELA) conference and AGM on 16 May heard unnamed members of the audience make disparaging, unchallenged comments about renters in Acorn’s Norwich branch.

Members at the ELA meeting can be heard to call Acorn members “wankers”, “fascists” and mocking men at an Acorn meeting wearing nail varnish. The recording ends with one person in the audience asking: “Can we use them [Acorn] as target practice before the shooting season?”

ELA chairman and director Paul Cunningham confirmed to Big Issue that the comments were made by an “unidentified audience member during a public Q&A session” at the May event. He added that the ELA “does not condone such language”.

Niahl Hubbard, branch secretary of Acorn Norwich, said “We think it’s telling that landlords feel comfortable enough to make and leave unchallenged comments such as these, which are both insulting and verging on threatening violence, and shows exactly why local renters desperately need proper protections in the city.

“The fact of the matter is, Acorn Norwich is the city’s largest group of organised social and private renters, and whatever is said about us by landlord groups, we will continue to bring people together to hold decision makers to account and fight for decent, secure and affordable homes for everyone in the city.”

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More than a dozen Acorn Norwich members had demonstrated outside the event before the comments were made.

The group has been calling for selective licensing to be introduced in the Norfolk city, arguing that it will allow the local authority to hold rogue landlords to account and protect renters.

In response to Acorn releasing the recording, ELA’s Cunningham said: “The recording captures derogatory comments made by an unidentified audience member during a public Q&A session at our May 16th Expo, which was open to all.

“The ELA does not condone such language but cannot police the speech of every attendee at a public event. We remain open to discussion from all groups on topics regarding property letting.”

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