Campaign Archive 2016–2026 — Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition
From hostile benches to £18.86m contracts — a decade of accountability, advocacy and community action.
Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition co-founder's first-person exposé of emergency accommodation conditions — £900/month paid to private companies for substandard accommodation with no hot water, stained mattresses and a ban on visitors. Led to a 10-point council action plan.
Brighton & Hove's anti-homeless bench design exposed by The Argus. Campaign led to American Express pledging to scrap hostile-design benches and thousands signing national petitions. Part of the wider UK anti-hostile-architecture movement.
After a campaign presenting approximately 1,600 signatures, Brighton & Hove housing chiefs agreed to review the blanket ban on visitors in emergency accommodation — a fundamental dignity right.
BHHC and Love Activists campaign to convert £20m council seafront office building into housing for the most vulnerable rather than luxury development.
Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition launches the Homeless Bill of Rights — giving legal protections to rough sleepers and homeless people in Brighton. Petition reaches 2,475 signatures.
BHHC presents 2,475-signature petition to council. The Homeless Bill of Rights takes a step closer to formal adoption by Brighton & Hove City Council.
BHHC joins coalition with Sussex Defend the NHS and Save Whitehawk Hill to keep Brighton General Hospital land in public ownership for social housing, opposing private development.
BHHC linked activists question all council candidates on housing policies during election hustings — making housing accountability central to the democratic process.
ETHRAG (Emergency & Temporary Housing Residents Action Group) founded — the UK's first residents association exclusively for people in emergency and temporary accommodation. Seeks formal council recognition.
BHHC presents ETHRAG-backed deputation to Housing & New Homes Committee requesting deferral of homelessness policy, highlighting LGBT vulnerability under the 5-year local connection rule.
BHHC investigation into the direct award of an £18.86m temporary housing management contract on New Year's Eve 2025 without competitive tender. Company incorporated just 2.5 years before award.
BHHC examines the proposed 250-year peppercorn lease on a 51,107 sq ft public building (BN1 1JE) — and what it means for the city's long-term housing capacity.
Analysis reveals Brighton & Hove council spends 89% of its homelessness budget on temporary accommodation and misallocates 78% of the government's Homelessness Prevention Grant. Prevention assessments fell 30% in a single year.
BHHC analysis of how Schedule 5 urgency provisions under the Procurement Act 2023 are being used to bypass competitive tendering for strategic multi-year contracts — creating a systematic accountability gap.
Join the coalition, submit a housing case for legal review, or support the Homeless Bill of Rights.