The row blew up following an article in the I newspaper yesterday by its housing correspondent, Vicky Spratt. The article said four tenants who rented the house owned by Ali in east London were sent an email last November giving them four months’ notice. Ali previously let the four bedroom home near the capital’s Olympic Park for £3,300 a month but after the four were evicted it was re-listed at £4,000 a month. It was allegedly re-let when an attempt to find a buyer failed.
Ali resigned last evening after numerous calls for her to go.
Prior to this the chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, said: “These allegations are shocking and a wake-up call to government on the need to push ahead as quickly as possible to improve protections for renters.
“It is bad enough when any landlord turfs out their tenant to hike up the rent, or tries their luck with unfair claims on the deposit, but the minister responsible for homelessness knows only too well about the harm caused by this behaviour.”
There are many other Labour activists who side with Ben Twomey and are frustrated and angry with Ali
Jess Barnard, a member of Labour’s National Executive committee and was a former chair of Young Labour uploaded on social media: “Seems an appropriate time to reiterate MPs should not be landlords, and landlords should not be Labour MPs.”
Also a Labour councillor in Lambeth, Martin Abrams said on social media: “You couldn’t make this up! Rushanara Ali should resign #LandlordsOutOfLabour.”
The property, owned by the Bethnal Green and the ex- housing minister, was managed by two lettings agencies who, according to a newspaper tried to bill the tenants nearly £2,000 for repainting and £395 for professional cleaning.
Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, landlords are barred from charging tenants for professional cleaning or redecorating unless there is evidence of significant damage.
The former homelessness minister, who once condemned the exploitation of private renters and pledged Labour would “empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases,” now faces scrutiny over her own role as a landlord.
Under Labour’s forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill—set to become law next year—landlords who evict tenants to sell a property will be barred from re-listing it at a higher rent for at least six months after the tenants have vacated.
Amid the controversy, Generation Rent’s chief executive issued a strong rebuke of the ex- government housing minister, accusing her of undermining the very protections she once championed.