A family who say they were served a section 21 “no‑fault” eviction notice on a five‑bed townhouse in north London have told the i paper they were shocked to see the property relisted days later at a significantly higher rent. The house is owned by Lord Waheed Alli, a long‑standing Labour donor, and the family said they had lived there for four years.
The father, in his forties, told the i paper the family had been paying £4,800 a month and were handed a section 21 notice in June requiring them to leave when their fixed‑term tenancy expired. He said the property was advertised within days at a headline rent of £6,000 a month, which he described as an increase of more than £1,000 a month. He said he and his partner asked the managing agent to negotiate and offered to meet the asking price or to remain an extra month to avoid disrupting their children’s schooling, but were rebuffed. The family moved out last month; new tenants are understood to be paying about £5,700 a month, the paper reported.
Lord Alli, a peer and former investment banker who was appointed to the House of Lords in the 1990s, has donated substantial sums to Labour over the past two decades. Media reports have said he has given more than £500,000 to the party and has funded at least seven Cabinet ministers with donations totalling £314,147, including payments to Sir Keir Starmer since 2020. His closeness to senior Labour figures has attracted scrutiny in recent months after details emerged about access to Downing Street and the use of his properties by senior politicians.
Sources close to Lord Alli told the i paper he had not been involved in the eviction decision, saying it was made by a managing estate agent. Lord Alli was approached for comment by the Daily Mail, and Downing Street declined to comment to the i paper, saying his property affairs were a "personal" matter.
The complaint comes as Labour advances a Renters’ Rights Bill that would abolish section 21 no‑fault evictions and in many cases bar landlords from relisting a property at a higher rent for six months after an eviction. The party has said the legislation will also phase out fixed‑term tenancies in favour of open‑ended contracts that can only be ended in specified circumstances, such as rent arrears or antisocial behaviour.
Conservative politicians seized on the episode to criticise Labour. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the reports were "yet another example of rank hypocrisy" by a Labour peer. Sir James Cleverly, the party’s shadow housing secretary, said the episode showed Labour was "saying one thing and doing another" and warned the party’s proposals would damage the private rental market. Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, a renters’ campaign group, said the reported behaviour was at odds with Lord Alli’s record of giving to the party and criticised eviction practices that Labour plans to outlaw.
The story follows resignations and controversies involving other Labour figures and landlords. Angela Rayner resigned last week as housing secretary and deputy prime minister after admitting to underpaying stamp duty on a flat, and Rushanara Ali left her role as homelessness minister in August amid reporting that she had ejected tenants from a property then put it back on the market at a higher rent.
The house in question, described in estate agency listings as a period townhouse near the Almeida Theatre, is understood to be worth about £3 million. The departing tenant told the i paper he was a Labour voter and that the experience left him "incredibly disappointed". He said the family had children settled in local schools preparing for exams and that the eviction and subsequent relisting caused significant disruption.
Labour has framed the Renters’ Rights Bill as a response to practices including no‑fault evictions and short‑term rent hikes following tenant removals. The party says the changes aim to give tenants greater security and stability. Critics, including some in the housing sector and opposition parties, argue the measures could discourage private landlords and reduce the supply of rental accommodation.
Media coverage of Lord Alli’s donations and connections to senior Labour figures has continued to raise questions about party fundraising and access. Reports have said Sir Keir Starmer used a Labour peer’s property in Covent Garden during the election campaign and accepted goods and hospitality linked to the peer. Labour politicians have defended their conduct, saying they did nothing wrong in accepting donations and that the peer asked for nothing in return.
The managing agent’s role in the eviction and relisting has been cited by sources close to Lord Alli. The family have raised their case publicly to highlight what they say are contradictions between the party’s stated policy aims and the actions of an influential party donor.