Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali resigns after 'ejecting tenants and hiking rent'

Labour's homelessness minister has resigned after it emerged she reportedly kicked out four tenants before ramping up the rent on a house she ownsby £700 a month.

Rushanara Ali said remaining in the role would be a “distraction from the ambitious work of the government”. She insisted she had followed all “relevant legal requirements” as a landlord.

Ms Ali, who has previously criticised "unreasonable rent increases", is said to have told renters that their lease would not be renewed as she was selling up. But when it failed to sell, the townhouse close to East London's Olympic Park was re-listed for rent at a considerably higher price, the i newspaper reported.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday evening, Ms Ali wrote: “It has been the honour of my life to have played my part in first securing and then serving as part of this Labour Government. You have my continued commitment, loyalty and support.

"Further to recent reporting, I wanted to make it clear that at all times I have followed all relevant legal requirements. I believe I took my responsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts demonstrate this.

"However, it is clear that continuing in my role will be a distraction from the ambitious work of the Government. I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position."

Keir Starmer thanked Ms Ali for her “diligent work” at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, including her efforts to repeal the Vagrancy Act.

He added: “You have also begun the process of delivering landmark reforms including tackling harassment and intimidation in public life and encouraging more people to engage and participate in our democracy. This will leave a lasting legacy.”

After the news broke of Ms Ali's resignation a Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: "Rushanara Ali fundamentally misunderstood her role. Her job was to tackle homelessness, not to increase it.

“At a time of widespread political disillusionment, her actions were staggeringly irresponsible and only added insult to injury after years of delay for renters' rights reform under the Conservatives."

According to reports, Ms Ali wrote to the four tenants in November saying their lease was not being renewed. They were offered the option to stay on a rolling basis until the property sold, sources close to the minister said, but chose not to.

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.

One of the tenants, Laura Jackson, told the i 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.

Ms Jackson said: “It’s an absolute joke. Trying to get that much money from renters is extortion”.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of pressure group Generation Rent, described the allegations as "shocking and a wake-up call to Government on the need to push ahead as quickly as possible to improve protections for renters".

He added: "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."

And Tom Darling, director at the Renters' Reform Coalition, said: "It's 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."

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”. Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory Party chairman, called for Ms Ali to stand down, accusing her of "staggering hypocrisy".

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier today said: "I don't know any of the details of this, but I understand that she has followed all of the rules in this case."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she "didn't understand" why the Conservatives were calling for Ms Ali to resign. Ms Reeves stated: "I don't know the details, but Rushanara Ali seems to have done everything in accordance with the law."

Under Labour's Renters Rights Bill 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.

"This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases."

READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster