ACORN members in London took action against Greystar yesterday (20/08/26), a multi-billion pound build to rent developer, demanding they freeze their rents and give their tenants collective bargaining power, as part of a coordinated national Day of Action over the cost of living.

Members demonstrated outside of Greystar’s offices in Finsbury Square, demanding to meet with and put our demands to their UK Director Thomasin Renshaw. Renshaw refused to meet with us, and instead Greystar put the building into lockdown. Greystar have been contributing to and profiting from the housing crisis across the UK, using AI to inflate the rents in its over 50,000 properties.

This action was one of nine taking place across England and Wales as part of ACORN’s national Day of Action on the cost of living. Across the country, members are taking on energy companies, water companies, bailiffs and landlords, who ACORN says are profiting while ordinary people struggle to afford the basics.

ACORN says that if the Government is serious about being a “cost of living government”, it must take on those profiting from essential needs and bring down the cost of the basics.

The union is calling for a cap on rents, the writing off of unaffordable energy and water debt built up during the cost of living crisis and the replacement of council tax with a fairer proportional property tax.

Callum Waterhouse, Comms Officer at ACORN Islington, said:

“We took the fight to Greystar today and showed them that we won’t stand for them profiteering from the housing crisis while so many people suffer. They showed that they would rather cower in their offices than come out and speak to us, but they should know ACORN aren’t going anywhere.”