Kirkby Rent Strike

The Kirkby Rent Strike was a 14-month-long rent strike initiated by 3,000 tenants in October 1972 in the town of Kirkby, outside Liverpool, against the Housing Finances Act. The strike caused a £1 rent rise. A group of women on the Tower Hill estate formed a discussion and support group to help themselves and their families through the factory closure crisis. When the Housing Finances Act was passed, these women formed an Unfair Rents Action Group and responded by organizing the rent strike.

The strike lasted for 14 months, resulting in the strikers being summoned to court and failing to appear. 36 of the strikers were then charged with contempt of court and faced the threat of jail. The strike ended in December 1973 when one of the strikers was jailed and a further four were arrested. A vote was held with the majority voting to end the strike.

The strike was the subject of a film, Behind the Rent Strike by documentary film maker, Nick Broomfield.