The homelessness minister has been accused of being a ‘hypocrite’ after raising the rent at her property by £700.
Rushanara Ali allegedly got rid of four tenants in her townhouse in Bow, east London before relisting the property soon after for more money, the i Paper reports.
This comes after the 50-year-old Labour minister spoke out against ‘private renters being exploited,’ saying that the government will ’empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.’
Four tenants, who had paid £3,300 a month to live at the townhouse in Bow, had their fixed-term tenancy come to an end in March last year.
In November, the renters got an email giving them four months’ notice as the tenancy would not be renewed.
Shortly after they moved out, one of the tenants, Laura Jackson, saw the house advertised again for almost £4,000 a month.
She told the i Paper: ‘It’s an absolute joke. Trying to get that much money from renters is extortion.’
A source close to the MP said the property was relisted for rent after no buyer was found.
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But a spokesperson for Ali argued that the tenants were not evicted as they were given the option to stay beyond the end of the fixed-term lease while the property was being sold.
They told Metro: ‘The tenants stayed for the entirety of their fixed term contract, and were informed they could stay beyond the expiration of the fixed term, while the property remained on the market, but this was not taken up and they decided to leave the property.
‘Rushanara takes her responsibilities seriously and complied with all relevant legal requirements.’
The average rent in the east London neighbourhood is listed as £2,500 per month on home.co.uk. Two-bedroom flats average £2,531, while three-bedroom apartments go for around £3,469 a month.
But landlords like Ali will soon be banned from ending a tenancy to sell a property from relisting it for more money at least six months after tenants leave when the Renters’ Rights Bill comes into force. Ali voted in favour of the Bill in Parliament in January.
Ms Jackson, a restaurant owner, claimed two letting agencies renting the property tried to charge the tenants almost £2,000 for a repainting of the house, and £395 for professional cleaning, the outlet reports.
Extra charges like these are outlawed unless it is done to fix serious damage, and landlords are not allowed to charge for professional cleaning.
The charges were soon dropped when the tenants told the agencies they knew Ali was a Labour MP. It is thought Ali was told about the fees and intervened to make sure they were dropped, according to the outlet.
But having the threat of the extra fees looming over the tenants was ‘really stressful,’ Ms Jackson said, adding that it was ‘ridiculous and unfair.’
Ms Jackson said MPs should not be allowed to be landlords and especially in their own constituency, calling it ‘morally wrong’ and ‘a conflict of interest.’
Now campaigners have called for Ali to resign.
Anny Cullum, a policy officer with the renters’ union Acorn, told Metro: ‘Ali’s actions fly in the face of the heart of the Renters’ Rights Bill her government is bringing in. ACORN and others in the Renters Reform Coalition have fought long and hard to make sure landlords won’t be able to flout the ban on ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions by pretending to sell their homes, only to then put them on the market to rent again.
‘We cannot be expected to trust that Ali is an appropriate person to tackle homelessness in this country when her actions and those of other profiteering landlords are at the heart of our housing crisis, driving homelessness.
‘The minister must resign, and Labour must further strengthen renters rights by bringing in rent controls to get a grip on ever-rising rents, and to prevent the extortionate exploitation of people’s need for decent shelter and a place to call home.’
Tom Darling, a director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said it is ‘mind-boggling that we have a homelessness minister who has just evicted four people in order to rake in more rent – something that will soon be illegal under the Renters’ Rights Bill her own department is bringing through parliament.’
Meanwhile, the opposition’s Conservative shadow housing secretary, James Cleverly, said the allegations would be ‘an example of the most extreme hypocrisy and she should not have the job as homelessness minister.’
The Green Party commented on the scandal, saying the minister ‘evicted her tenants and hiked the rent by £700 a month.’
‘Some landlords are exploiting renters left, right and centre. We need proper protections for renters, including rent controls and an end to no-fault evictions,’ the party said.
Jack Barclay Estates declined to comment, while Avenue Lettings did not respond to a request for a comment.
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