Friday, August 08, 2025
UK Homelessness minister resigns after embarrassing claims
An earlier report said that Rushanara Ali, who has previously criticised "unreasonable rent increases" reportedly gave the renters four months notice that their lease would not be renewed. They say that it has been subsequently claimed that the East London home was subsequently re-listed for rent within weeks of them moving out at a massively increased price:
The four were sent an email saying they would have to leave in November last year, the i newspaper reports. But it is understood they were offered the opportunity to stay on a rolling basis while the house was on the market. When it failed to sell, it was re-listed for rent, it is believed. Ms Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, faces calls to step down.
One of the tenants, Laura Jackson, told the newspaper that she saw the four-bedroom townhouse had been put up for rent at nearly £4,000 a month shortly after moving out. Previously Ms Ali charged £3,300 a month for the home close to London's Olympic Park, it is claimed.
Ms Jackson said: “It’s an absolute joke. Trying to get that much money from renters is extortion”. 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”.
However sources close to the minister say it was a fixed-term contract, and the house was put on the market for sale while the tenants were there. The people living there were told they could stay on a rolling basis, but opted to leave, the BBC reports. It was only re-listed for rent because it did not sell, according to the i.
A spokesperson for Ms Ali said: “Rushanara takes her responsibilities seriously and complied with all relevant legal requirements.”
The house, one of two rental properties Ms Ali has declared in her register of interests, is currently listed for sale at £894,995. It had originally gone up for £914,995 last November - but the price was reduced in February.
Under the Renters Rights Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, landlords who end a tenancy to sell a home will be banned from re-listing it for six months. The Bill will also end fixed-term tenancies. Landlords will also be required to give four months' notice if they plan to move tenants out in order to sell it.
In September last year Ms Ali said renters would be given more powers to challenge "unreasonable" increases. In a written answer she said: "More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness.
Ali has now resigned saying in a letter to the Prime Minister that remaining in the role would be “a distraction from the ambitious work of this Government”.
