We call on ORBIT housing association to help solve the housing crisis in Hastings by refurbishing their 53 empty flats in Clifton Court, Holmesdale Gardens, Hastings.

It’s a familiar tale throughout Hastings - a vibrant beautiful town attracting lots of newcomers, which is also among the poorest towns in England. House prices have almost doubled over the past decade. Private rents have soared. At the same time the Local Housing Allowance, the maximum amount of housing benefit tenants can receive, has been frozen by the government since 2020.

Landlords selling up to cash in on rising prices, or switching to profitable holiday lets, has led to a spate of evictions of private tenants leaving more than 500 local families currently homeless. This small district council will spend £5.6m this financial year, a quarter of its entire budget, paying for temporary accommodation in hotels, hostels, caravan parks and slum quality private flats because there is no social housing available for them.

Only 189 social homes in Hastings were let last year and there were still 1,547 households on the waiting list at the end of the 2023.

So, why is Orbit, a large not-for-profit housing association, sitting on 53 empty social housing flats in Clifton Court in the centre of Hastings? The last secure tenants were moved out in July 2023 and Orbit has been paying council tax for all these boarded up empty flats ever since.

Whilst problems with heating and damp were identified prior to residents being moved out, there were no structural problems that would prevent them being refurbished to a high standard. Instead, ORBIT is letting these flats deteriorate and become increasingly difficult to restore.

Why are they doing this? Follow the money would be our response. Their plan is to demolish Clifton Court and redevelop this valuable site, where they can then rent out new build flats at 80% of market rate and still call them 'affordable', or even sell some of them outright on the private market. This obviously suits their bottom line in this instance.

Clearly, in the midst of a climate crisis, refurbishment is the most sustainable option. Orbit has claimed this would cost around £5 million. But surely that would still be a worthwhile investment to retain 53 secure affordable homes and to avoid the huge environmental cost of demolition and rebuilding?

If Orbit does not want to spend the money to maintain and retain these valuable social homes, then they should hand it over to the Council or another social housing provider to do it instead. 

If you agree that ORBIT should be confronted and forced to return this building to habitable status to help alleviate the homeless problem in Hastings, please sign our petition. And join us for a protest on June 23rd at 6pm outside Clifton Court to highlight the needless waste of these homes sitting empty. Full details on www.linktr.ee/housingrebellion