Latest news with #rent increase
Sky News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Rushanara Ali: Humiliating demise for Labour minister after a most egregious case of double standards
Rushanara Ali's swift and humiliating demise is a classic example of paying the price for the politician's crime of "do as I say, not as I do". She was Labour's minister for homelessness, for goodness' sake, yet she ejected tenants from her near-£1m town house and then hiked the rent. A more egregious case of ministerial double standards it would be difficult to imagine. She had to go and was no doubt told by 10 Downing Street to go quickly. 'A heavy heart' - really? MP for the East End constituency of Bethnal Green and Stepney, Ms Ali was the very model of a modern Labour minister: A degree in PPE from Oxford University. In her resignation letter to Sir Keir Starmer, she said she is quitting "with a heavy heart". Really? She presumably didn't have a heavy heart when she ejected her four tenants. She'd previously spoken out against "private renters being exploited" and said her government would "empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases". The now former minister was charging her four former tenants £3,300 a month. Yet after they moved out, she charged her new tenants £4,000 - a rent increase of more than 20%. A fragile constituency for Labour? In an area represented by the left-wing firebrand George Galloway from 2005 to 2010, Ms Ali had a majority of under 1,700 at the election last year. Ominously for Labour, an independent candidate was second and the Greens third. No doubt Jeremy Corbyn's new party will also stand next time. In her resignation letter to the PM, Ms Ali said continuing in her ministerial role would be a distraction. Too right.
South China Morning Post
24-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
7 in 10 Hong Kong subdivided flat tenants can only bear rent rise of under 5%: survey
Over 70 per cent of tenants of subdivided flats in Hong Kong can only afford a rent increase of less than five per cent if the government's proposed regulation of substandard housing drives up rental prices, according to a survey. The Federation of Public Housing Estates revealed its findings on Thursday after interviewing tenants of 151 households in subdivided flats earlier this month on the coming overhaul of Hong Kong's shoebox homes. Under the proposed regulatory regime , subdivided flats must fulfil a set of standards laid down for 'basic housing units', which include a minimum size of 86 sq ft, a ceiling height of 2.3 metres (7.5 feet), proper windows and at least one toilet for each unit. Landlords will be allowed to register their subdivided flats next March and remain on the rental market if they receive accreditation. The survey found that 59 per cent of respondents hoped that the regulation would not drive rents up 'massively', while 45 per cent called for a rental subsidy from the government. About 71 per cent of respondents said they could only tolerate a rent increase of less than five per cent, while another 18 per cent said they could bear a rise of five to 10 per cent at most. Only six respondents said they could manage a rent increase of over 10 per cent, while the rest offered no comment. Around 78 per cent of respondents were paying HK$7,000 (US$892) or less per month for their subdivided home.
