Homelessness minister hiked rent weeks after removing tenants

Britain’s homelessness minister increased the rent on a house she owns by hundreds of pounds, allegedly “within weeks” of the previous tenants’ contract ending.

The i Paper reported that four tenants who rented a house owned by Rushanara Ali in East London were sent an email last November giving them four months’ notice that their lease would not be renewed.

It says the property was re-listed shortly after the tenants moved out, at a rent that was £700 a month higher.

Ali is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping. A spokesman said: “Rushanara takes her responsibilities seriously and complied with all relevant legal requirements.”

A source close to the homelessness minister said it had been a fixed-term contract and that the house had been put up for…