The government’s former homelessness minister has resigned in disgrace after being accused of doing precisely what her department is trying to outlaw—evicting tenants and sharply increasing rents—while helping to draft legislation intended to protect renters from such treatment.
Rushanara Ali, until yesterday the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Homelessness and Democracy, stepped down after revelations that she evicted tenants from her east London property only to relist it weeks later with a rent increase of £700 per month.
According to a report by i newspaper, Ali had been letting her four-bedroom townhouse in Bethnal Green for £3,300 a month. Tenants were reportedly given notice, after which the same property reappeared on the rental market—this time at £4,000 per month.
The revelations have sparked outrage across the political spectrum, with the Conservative Party’s Kevin Hollinrake branding her actions as “staggering hypocrisy.”
At the heart of the scandal is the Renters Rights Bill, a flagship piece of legislation currently moving through Parliament under the very department Ali helped lead. Among its provisions? A proposed ban on landlords re-advertising properties for 12 months following an eviction—precisely the kind of practice Ali is now accused of exploiting.
Ali, in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, insisted she had “followed all relevant legal requirements” and claimed she had “taken [her] responsibilities seriously.” She added, however, that her continued presence in office would be “a distraction from the ambitious work of the government.”
Critics say that distraction is self-inflicted.
“This isn’t just a minor lapse in judgment,” said one senior backbencher. “It’s a blatant case of saying one thing in public and doing the exact opposite in private—then hoping no one notices.”
Indeed, it appears Ali might have succeeded in keeping the matter quiet, had it not been for investigative reporting. There is no suggestion she broke the law, but for a minister responsible for tackling homelessness and promoting renters’ rights, the optics are devastating.
Starmer, in his reply, thanked Ali for her “diligent work” and noted her contributions to repealing the Vagrancy Act. Yet the Labour leadership now faces uncomfortable questions about how this appointment was vetted—and why concerns over Ali’s record didn’t surface sooner.
This is not the first time Ali’s tenure at the Ministry of Communities, Housing and Local Government has come under scrutiny. She previously relinquished her building safety brief following backlash over accepting hospitality from firms linked to the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Now, with her ministerial career in ruins, the damage extends far beyond one MP’s reputation. For a government that campaigned on promises of transparency, fairness, and housing justice, this episode threatens to cast a long shadow over its credibility.
As one housing campaigner put it: “When the person writing the rules doesn’t follow them, why should anyone else?”