- Written by Ruby Gregory
- Local Democracy Reporting Service
Resident Mary Pym fears rent increases will cause “social cleansing”
Dozens of key workers fear they will be forced out of London after learning housing associations plan to increase annual rents by up to 9%.
Peabody rents out housing at discounted rates to key workers.
Only some tenants in former Crown Estate housing said their rents would rise by 9%.
According to a spokesperson, some companies will see an average increase of 5.4%, while others will not see an increase at all.
This depends on whether their rent is already at a cap based on London residential rents.
According to Peabody’s website, the company rents out homes at prices 20 to 35 percent below market rates in the capital.
Many of the former Crown Estate homes are occupied by key workers, and the proposed median rent increase of up to 9.4% for other tenants will come into effect from April 1.
This has left many key workers, including teachers, paramedics, nurses and firefighters, worried that they will no longer be able to make ends meet.
On February 8, Peabody resident Mary Pym, chairman of Victoria Park Community Association, hosted an emergency meeting attended by Tower Hamlets councilor Sirajul Islam and Hackney councilor Claire Joseph to address residents’ concerns. heard.
Residents voiced concerns at this month’s meeting
During the meeting, Peabody tenants expressed concerns that they were being used as a “cash cow” and that they would no longer be able to afford housing that would support key workers and their salaries. expressed concern.
Ms Pym has accused Mr Peabody of “social cleansing” and fears properties based in Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Camden, Lewisham and Milbank will soon be taken over by the wealthy.
“if [Peabody] If this continues, it will lead to a total exodus of people living here, forcing the poor and certainly key workers and pensioners to leave as well. ”
In 2011, Peabody purchased four estates – Victoria Park, Cumberland Market, Milbank and Leigh Green – from Crown Estates for £140.8m.
Pym, now a pensioner who has lived in a flat in Hackney with her husband Nick since 1976, said life on the Crown Estate was once “very good”.
Paramedic Katherine Angus said she thought Peabody was “protecting our community” but “betrayed us by jacking up the rent.”
Angus fears key workers will be forced out of London and forced to travel miles to get to work.
A spokesperson for the Social Housing Action Campaign said: “Peabody tenants are absolutely right to fight these price increases. This is a shocking increase in the cost of their housing and is pushing many over the edge financially. “It will push us to the next level,” he said.
They added: “People cannot afford rent increases of around 9% to 10% every year.”
But Mr. Peabody argued that those whose rents are already rising won’t see the full increase if they’re already at the cap.
“We appreciate that rent increases are never welcome,” a Peabody spokesperson said.
“For more than half of residents living in the former Crown Estate, rents will either remain the same or rise by an average of 5.4%.
“Like all housing associations, we are balancing rising costs with the need to continue to maintain existing homes, build the homes we need as much as possible and provide the services we need. I have to.”
A spokesperson said Peabody had invested more than £23 million in home improvements across all four Crown estates since 2020.
They added: “Although these homes are not social rent, they represent good value for money in these locations in central London, averaging £1,233 a month for a three-bed home.”