Peabody Trust housing in Southwark

A petition has been received this week at City Hall from tenants calling on their housing association Peabody to stop escalating their rents, which have risen by 36% in just four years. Peabody bought four estates housing keyworkers across London in 2011 from the Crown Estate. The estates in Victoria Park in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, Cumberland Market in Camden, Milbank in Westminster and Lee Green in Lewisham contain 1,200 homes. 

Despite assurances at the time of the sale that rents would be kept affordable, since 2011 rents have increased so someone who paid £650 per month now has to pay £884 a month. At a time of stagnant wage rises and increases in the cost of living residents simply cannot afford this. The petition signed by over 1,000 people calls for a meeting with senior staff at Peabody, a 12 month freeze on further increases and a review of their rent policy.

Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London wide Assembly Member said: 

“It is unacceptable for Peabody to raise rents resulting in yet more key workers in London being priced out of the city while at the same time their accounts show a surplus of £291m for the year 2013/14.  This is more than 10 times the amount of surplus they recorded last year.  The term affordable bears little relation to reality.

“Residents have been expected to find an extra £234 a month over four years. How are people supposed to be able to find this money and be left with enough to afford essentials like heating, food and transport costs? Both Peabody and the Mayor of London speak about ‘affordable’ housing, but residents are being really squeezed by ever rising rents. These increases are simply not sustainable’’.

ENDS 

Notes 

Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.

Tom Copley AM received the petition at City Hall yesterday.  Tom Copley is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.