Tenants to Pay Personalised Rents

Wealthier tenants on an east London housing estate will pay more than their neighbours in a new rent scheme. Residents of the New Era estate in Hoxton, Hackney, will be invited to pay new personalised rates from 1 January. Dolphin Living, which owns the estate, will analyse the financial situation of tenants to establish a rent which will give them a good standard of living. Those opting in to the personalised scheme will see their rent increase by between £2.50 and £4 a week, taking an average weekly rent to between £147.50 and £186. Those opting out of the scheme will see their rent increase by inflation plus 4.5 per cent - or £8 to £12 a week for 2016. Read more on the BBC website.

New Era Residents Toast Christmas Victory

To the sound of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” the residents of the New Era estate in east London toasted a remarkable Christmas victory.  On Friday it was confirmed that the 93 families’ battle against eviction by a US investor had finally been successful. Months of protesting, marching and petitioning had forced the millionaire executives of Westbrook Partners to sell the estate, abandoning plans to evict families and triple rents. The new owner was announced as the Dolphin Square Foundation, a charity dedicated to providing affordable homes for low and middle income Londoners. It instantly pledged to keep rents at their current low rates not just this Christmas but next Christmas too. Read more on the Guardian website.

Tenants Will Not Be Evicted Before Christmas, Landlord Says

The US investment company that has threatened to evict tenants from the New Era housing estate in east London and hike rents has said it will not turf families out before Christmas, as some had feared. Westbrook Partners broke its silence on its plans for the estate on Monday. The company said, “No changes to residents’ tenancy agreements and rents will be made until we have had the opportunity to meet tenants.” Resident campaigning against the planned evictions, however, said the statement would not allay their fears that the owners still plan to “socially cleanse” the estate and profit by tripling rents next year. Read more on the Guardian website.

Johnson Backs Tenants’ Battle with US Landlord

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has asked his deputy to intervene in the increasingly bitter row involving tenants fighting a battle to stay in their homes after a US investment company bought the estate with plans to refurbish it and charge market rents. Johnson has no formal powers over the New Era estate in Hoxton as it is private housing on private land. But he has asked his deputy mayor for housing to talk to Westbrook Partners, the property investment firm that bought the estate earlier this year, “in an effort to try to find a favourable solution that would allow the tenants to stay in their own homes”, the spokesman said. Read more on the Guardian website.

Tenants Fear Eviction by Christmas after Rent Promise Rescinded

The New Era estate in Hoxton, which had until now provided affordable rents to local people, was bought this year by Westbrook Partners, a US-based private property investment group. Westbrook passed management of the homes to the Benyon Estate, co-owned by the Conservative MP Richard Benyon, which bought a small stake. Following a wave of negative reports about their plans for the estate, the Benyon Estate announced it was pulling out as residents had “made it clear that they do not welcome our involvement”. As residents celebrated an apparent victory four Hackney councillors hand-delivered letters warning of Westbrook’s new plans.  The councillors said they had previously urged Benyon and Westbrook not to increase rents on the estate to market values, which in some cases would lead to a rise from about £600 a month to nearer £2,400. The letter said they had secured an agreement not to increase rents again until 2016. However, it added: “We understand the council have now been informed that Westbrook no longer plan to honour that plan, and have been told that their plan is to refurbish the current estate in its entirety and then rent all the properties without secure tenancies at market rent levels, with no affordable housing.” Read more on the Guardian website.