Protesters call for social housing and rent controls (Pic: Guy Smallman)
Tea is one of thousands of homeless people that local councils have relocated far away from their families and their social support networks.
It’s a process that rips up communities—and destroys people’s lives.
“I lived in Haringey, in north London, for over 20 years. My children were born and raised there, and our wider family, including their grandparents, have lived in the borough for decades,” says Tea.
In 2023, Tea was evicted from a private rental and became homeless. She turned to Haringey council for help, hoping that she and her family would be able to live locally.
“Instead, we were placed in temporary accommodation in Brent, in west London, far away from everything familiar to us,” she said.
Homelessness and moving to temporary accommodation is having a devastating impact on her and her children.
Temporary accommodation is not meant to be a long term solution. Yet nearly three years later, Tea and her family are still trapped in there with no way out.
“The distance means it’s extremely difficult to maintain connections with family, friends and support services,” she said.
Tea described the horrendous state of housing that is not fit for purpose. “It’s in very poor condition and not suitable for a family. There is mould, as well as problems with mice and rats. There are crumbling walls, problems with the gas,” she said.
The move has upended every aspect of her family’s life.
“My children’s education has been severely disrupted. Both of my children have had to change schools twice within two years,” Tea said.
“I’ve long struggled with my mental health, and the instability and stress of our situation have made it significantly worse.
“Watching my children’s well-being decline has been heartbreaking. They’ve lost not just stability in their home and education, but also their sense of belonging and community,” she reported.
Tea has tried to contact Haringey council for help, holding out hope that she and her family will be able to return to the borough.
Private renters are also forced to move from flat to flat, as they struggle to manage skyrocketing rents and face the looming threat of eviction.
Oscar, a part time college student living in London, spoke to Socialist Worker about the pressures of living in the capital as a private renter.
“I’m living in south London now, but I’ve lived all over in the past few years—east, west and north. I moved wherever I could find a place cheap enough,” he said.
“Having to move constantly is just another stress I don’t need, that no one else needs. It makes it hard to keep up with my studies. And since I’m having to work while I study, I’m constantly having to change jobs as well,” Oscar added.
In December, Oscar was a victim of a so-called Section 21 “no fault” eviction.
His landlord wasn’t required to give him a reason. But when Oscar looked up the flat later, he wasn’t surprised to see the landlord had jacked up the rent.
One of the Labour government’s keystone policies is the Renters’ Rights Act, which came into force this month. It means landlords now have to give sufficient reasons for evictions, and a longer notice period.
But, while the Act has been praised as a “once in a generation reform,” it stops short of addressing the root of the problem, a housing system driven by competition and private profit.
Landlords are now limited to just one rent rise a year and these must be in line with market rates. But this is little consolation for those forced to foot the bill.
Oscar said the Renters’ Rights Act was some help, but is a case of far too little, far too late. “Surely rent controls could have been put in place?” he asked.
Last month chancellor Rachel Reeves considered imposing a one‑year rent freeze on the private sector, to help renters cope with a cost of living crisis that has deepened due to the US war on Iran. And to try to win back voters from the Green Party.
But housing minister Steve Reed said the Labour government was dead set against any such measure. “I think I’ve been crystal clear, we’re not doing it,” he said.
Labour is unwilling to side with renters against landlords. This is hardly surprising. Some 43 Labour MPs are themselves landlords.
The worst offender is Jas Athwal. The Labour MP for Ilford South owns 15 flats. He has referred to himself as a “renter’s champion,” yet his tenants say the flats are mouldy and infested with ants.
The limited gains represented by the Renters’ Rights Act are the result of popular pressure from those affected by rising rents. But those same people will also be the ones who will feel its shortcomings most sharply.
“I wish I could say that I’ll be staying in London, settling down here. But I just don’t see how that’s going to be possible, the way things are going. Sooner or later, I’ll be priced out,” Oscar said.
Under capitalism, access to shelter—a basic human need—is treated as a commodity. Working class people, especially the most marginalised, have always had to struggle to find somewhere to live.
Sometimes their struggles have won gains. During the long, post-war boom of the 1950s and 1960s, there was an expansion of public housing.
But this was rolled back in the 1980s when the Tories under Margaret Thatcher pushed the “right to buy,” the mass sale of previously public owned housing into private hands along with a lifting of what rent controls remained.
The proliferation of private landlords was the predictable result of decisions made by previous governments. They laid the basis for the housing crisis we see today that impacts private sector renters, those in social housing and people forced into temporary accommodation.
Housing associations are an attempt to deal with the problems caused by this shift from a public to a largely privatised housing system.
These were set up as not-for-profit organisations to offer the social housing that local councils once provided.
But despite these lofty ideals, they are still allowed to make tonnes of money from charging rent to their tenants.
One of the worst offenders is Clarion Housing. The single largest housing association in Britain, it owns more than 125,000 properties across 170 local authorities, providing housing to more than 350,000 people.
In 2024-5, Clarion reported a record turnover of over £1 billion. Its CEO, Clare Miller, pays herself an annual salary of £500,000.
Meanwhile, Clarion tenants pay for the privilege of living in flats with chronic damp and mould, pest infestations and structural problems.
Clarion also lets some of its properties to other, smaller housing associations like the Peter Bedford Housing Association (PBHA).
PBHA houses vulnerable adults in east and north London. On 18 February, 69 tenants in PBHA flats were told that they would be subject to Section 21 no fault evictions, still legal at the time.
Diana was one of those affected. She had been homeless after leaving an abusive relationship before moving into a PBHA flat in Islington, north London.
She had been living in a PBHA flat for six years. Some of her neighbours had been there for 25 years.
But Diana organised her neighbours and fought back. In doing so she found out that PBHA was not even her landlord.
“Many of us, most of us, had no idea that the properties belonged to Clarion, and were only being rented out by PBHA,” she told Socialist Worker.
Initially, neither Clarion nor PBHA were willing to meet with the tenants.
“We were denied even the chance to talk directly with Clarion,” she added.
But after organising a petition, and publicising their story, the tenants forced both Clarion and PBHA to the table.
“If we hadn’t organised ourselves I’m 100 percent sure they would have continued to ignore us,” Diana said.
At the meeting, Clarion and PBHA said they were taking evictions off the table and promised to rehouse all the tenants.
But Diana feels this is simply a delaying tactic.
“They told one of the tenants, a vulnerable person, that if it comes down to it and they can’t find similar housing, he can always find a place in a shelter,” she said.
And Diana’s sure what Clarion’s plans will be once the properties are back in their hands.
“They’ll renovate them and split them up into single, self-contained flats, so they can make more money,” she said.
Clearly, the system is in crisis and no longer working. But while the problems are a long time in the making, there is much that could be done in the short term by way of solutions.
Housing campaigner Paul Burnham told Socialist Worker that there are measures that could be put in place immediately and without any cost to the council.
He pointed out that there are currently more than 130 council homes in the Love Lane estate, in Haringey, sitting empty.
“The council could immediately use them for temporary accommodation for those needing housing in Haringey,” Paul said.
Beyond such local measures, there is a lot that could be done nationwide as well. Paul said that the measures in last week’s King’s speech put limits on the right to buy.
“The obvious thing is it should be abolished,” he said. “Having a public housing programme with right to buy is like trying to fill a bath with the plug out.”
But what’s needed most of all is a system geared towards public good rather than private profit.
“The system as it stands takes no account whatsoever of people that are not able to access the market. It takes no account whatsoever of the affordability of the housing that’s been produced.
“And it takes no account whatsoever of the increasing inequalities which follow from this kind of approach,” Paul argued.
And there is an alternative, a simple solution.
“Invest in council housing, both in new council housing and in the existing stock. And introduce rent controls.
“It’s simply a question of having public policies that actually address people’s real needs and help to deal with social exclusion and social inequality by reducing them,” Paul said.
Jude Mckechnie spoke to the workers leading the fightback against outsourcing
Judy Cox reviews End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
