Calls for homeless minister Rushanara Ali to resign over rent hike row

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali is facing calls to resign over allegations that she hiked rent on a property she owns before putting it back on the rental market.

Ali, who has been homelessness minister since Labour came into power in July 2024, rented out the four-bedroom townhouse near London’s Olympic Park for £3,300 a month in March last year, according to reports in the i.

The tenants were told in November that the lease on their fixed-term tenancy was not being renewed and were given four months’ notice to leave.

It is understood that the property was listed for sale while the tenants were still living there and they were offered a rolling contract to remain beyond the fixed term but they decided to leave.

But just weeks after they left, one tenant saw the property back on the rental market for £4,000 a month.

The allegations come as Labour are aiming to boost security for tenants through the Renters’ Rights Bill. The new legislation, which is set to get royal assent in the autumn, looks to ban fixed-term tenancies and will also limit the circumstances in which landlords can evict tenants. It will axe no-fault evictions which are considered a leading driver of homelessness.

Pro-renter groups have called on Ali to resign from her role as homelessness minister.

“Ali’s actions fly in the face of the heart of the Renters’ Rights Bill her government is bringing in,” said Any Cullum, policy officer and researcher for community union ACORN.

“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.”

Siân Smith, London Renters Union spokesperson, also said Ali must go.

“Rushanara Ali must step down. Soaring rents are a leading cause of homelessness, and during the worst housing crisis in decades, it is indefensible for the minister for homelessness to be kicking out tenants and hiking rents,” said Smith.

“The public cannot trust a government to tackle the rent crisis while ministers like Ali and Jas Athwal profit from insecure or substandard housing. This is a clear conflict of interest. Landlords should have no place in parliament. Millions of renters are at breaking point, struggling to afford the basics or trapped for years in temporary accommodation. It is time for the government to prioritise renters’ rights over the profits of landlord MPs by introducing rent controls and investing in council housing.”

The i reported that a source close to Ali said the Bethnal Green and Stepney MP had told tenants that their tenancy would not be renewed. Tenants were also offered the chance to stay on a rolling contract until Ali could sell the property, which was relisted for rent when she could not find a buyer for the townhouse.

A spokesperson for Rushanara Ali told Big Issue: “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.”

Read more:

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• Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali: ‘We must take difficult decisions now to get back on track’

Pro-renter lobby group the Renters’ Reform Coalition said the minister’s actions were “mind-boggling”.

Tom Darling, director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said hiking rent and forcing tenants out “will soon be illegal under the Renters’ Rights Bill her own department is bringing through parliament”.

He added: “The government are currently considering an amendment to the legislation from the House of Lords which reduces the ban on reletting after eviction from 12 months to six months. The government must remove this amendment, and at the very least minister Ali must recuse herself from any discussions on this within government.”

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said the case shows tenants need more protection from rent hikes.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will take action to ban landlords and letting agents from sparking bidding wars between tenants but the legislation has faced criticism for its lack of action on affordability. ACORN and London Renters Union have both called for rent controls to be introduced to be cap record-high rents.

“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,” said Twomey. “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.

“These allegations highlight common practices that the government can eradicate.”

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