2d ago

Homelessness minister threw out her tenants - then increased rent by £700 a month

inews.co.uk

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/34061259

World News @quokk.au

mc900ftJesus @lemy.lol

1d ago

Homelessness minister threw out her tenants - then increased rent by £700 a month

inews.co.uk /news/homelessness-minister-threw-out-tenants-increased-rent-3846449

UK Politics @feddit.uk

als @lemmy.blahaj.zone

2d ago

Homelessness minister threw out her tenants - then increased rent by £700 a month

inews.co.uk /news/homelessness-minister-threw-out-tenants-increased-rent-3846449

United Kingdom @feddit.uk

Davriellelouna @lemmy.world

2d ago

Homelessness minister threw out her tenants - then increased rent by £700 a month

inews.co.uk /news/homelessness-minister-threw-out-tenants-increased-rent-3846449

55 comments

This is a tough one. First, I don't think MPs shoupd be landlords, but:
She wanted to sell the house
She waited until the renters contract expired
She did offer a rolling contract to the current renters at their existing rent until the house sold
They declined
She put the house on the market and opened it up to any short-term renters who wanted to stay there while it was on the market
She listed it for current going rate
Someone took it
The house is still for sale.
To me, there isn't much wrong with that, what is wrong is:
She didn't wait 6 months. Not only is this terrible, but the optics are horrible and she should know that
She is using a tenant agency that tried to charge them a ton of move-out fees (She did have them canceled)
And..
She's the HOMELESSNESS MINISTER?!?! Sheash.
Edit: Some additional context from UK peoples - some letting agencies will relist your home without telling you. Fun stuff.
update: this article caused her to resign from her Ministerial position the next day.
Minister for homelessness, previous experiences appreciated.
She resigned rather than keep the rents low. She’s just gonna go full evil landlord now
Being a landlord should automatically disqualify you from that position
- I agree. Being a landlord should automatically disqualify you from being a landlord.
homelessness minister
well yes she's making people homeless, job well done
- Damnit. Beat me to it. But the joke basically wrote itself so.. :D
My landlord did this. He said he wanted to sell the place, then rented it again at a way higher price. Very illegal, but I moved out of the city - hard to do small claims from so far away.
- Small claims would get you a payout though. A bunch of bricks could get you arrested.
  
  So he’d be out a few thousand in deductibles and you’d likely be in prison?
Maybe she misunderstood and didn’t realize she’s supposed to reduce homelessness.
- Yes, but if she doesn't keep making more people homeless she'll be out of a job!
  
  Then she’ll be homeless! Which increases homelessness numbers! So they’ll have to give her a job again. But then she won’t be homeless anymore.
- Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.
- keeping herself in a job
Labour party lmao
- As a Canadian, sensitive question but how come everyone in the government and labor party is Indian nowadays? Im just curious as I’ve noticed it as I read these stories
  
  fellow Canadian, have you been to Toronto/Southern Ontario lately?
  
  The UK has a lot of ethnic Indians because of the empire and encouraging immigration to replace people who didn't survive WWII. The Labour Party has about as many people with Indian heritage as would be expected given population demographics. It's probably just more than in Canada, so it seems like a lot to you.
- They should rebrand to the “Work or Starve” party.
  
  Or Work And Still Starve at the rate they're going
All landlords are bastards.
- I own two properties that I let out. I never cheat my tenants, it's bad for business. So (though I hate to put it like this): not all landlords.
  Only 99%.
  
  All means all, fuck you.
  
  Lemmy usees hate you for it but they can't imagine someone just temporarily needing to rent a place instead of buying it and being stuck there. It's a logical exchange between a homeowner and a (temporary) home seeker so please ignore the hate hahaha.
Incredible. In the worst way.
- Seems pretty credible to me.
FIY, the Minister's party (Labour) is currently pushing a law to increase tenants' rights, including preventing this exact situation from happening, which makes the whole situation even more ridiculous and hypocritical.
Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which will become law next year, prohibits landlords who have ended a tenancy in order to sell a property from relisting it for higher rent until at least six months after tenants have moved out.
- Sounds better than nothing but why even make it legal to evict tenants to sell a place in the first place?
- Labour is a deeply unserious party that is trying to revert to Blairism. They want to look like they are doing something, but don't actually want to change anything.
- It’s also the party who willingly sent hundreds of thousands of disabled people including children into poverty. So not too off brand either.
  
  This implies Tories are any better
- Is she trying to get in on this before the law passes?
Always a nice change of pace seeing terrible politicians from outside the US. Terrible for our outlook as a species, but a nice change of scenery none the less.
what a cunt
Look up France-Élaine Duranceau, minister of housing in Québec, Canada. Another fine example.
- yep, she's completely disconnected from reality. She bought her 700k$ house cash at like 30 something, cannot understand why people does not invest in real estate. She would be the one saying "are you trying not being poor?"
  
  She will say "try not being poor"?
Awful, but unfortunately happens a lot.
I bought my home two years ago in anticipation of my now former landlord selling the building, which he did last year. I didn't want to get priced out of living in the place I wanted to be.
Guess she meant something different with "unreasonable rent increases".
SMH.
Look... If you own housing with the express purpose of using it as a means of income or financial gain/stability then you're objectively a piece of human shit.
- Same if you sell food.
LANDLORDS ARE NOT HUMAN.
- Just like billionaires! They are all wastes of oxygen

55 comments