Rushanara Ali: Is the homelessness minister married, net worth, and why did she raise rent by £700 after evicting tenants?
Rushanara Ali, the UK’s Minister for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, is under growing pressure to resign after it emerged she increased the rent on a property she owns by £700 a month shortly after ending a tenancy agreement with four tenants in East London.
According to The i Paper, the tenants were informed in November 2024 that their lease would not be renewed. The house, located in Ali’s own East London constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow, was re-listed shortly after they moved out, with a significantly higher rent. The decision was reportedly made “within weeks” of their departure.
The move has sparked allegations of hypocrisy, particularly given Ali’s ministerial portfolio focused on housing insecurity. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “She’s spoken out about exploiting tenants, about providing more protections to tenants. You can’t say those things, then do the opposite in practice, as a landlord. She’s got to resign.”
Pete Wishart, the SNP’s deputy leader at Westminster, echoed the sentiment: “Once this shameful story broke, Labour’s homelessness minister should have immediately resigned.”
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “These allegations are shocking and a wake-up call to government on the need to push ahead as quickly as possible to improve protections for renters.”
He added: “It is bad enough when any landlord turfs out their tenant to hike up the rent… but the minister responsible for homelessness knows only too well about the harm caused by this behaviour.”
A spokesperson for Ali said: “Rushanara takes her responsibilities seriously and complied with all relevant legal requirements.”
A source close to her added that it had been a fixed-term contract and the property was initially listed for sale while the tenants were in place. The tenants were allegedly offered the chance to stay on a rolling basis but chose to leave. The property was then re-listed for rent after failing to sell. The asking price of £914,995 was later reduced by £20,000 in February 2025.
Who is Rushanara Ali and is she married?
Ali’s rise to political prominence is often described as a story of resilience and social mobility. Born in Bishwanath, Sylhet, Bangladesh in 1975, she moved to London’s East End as a child and grew up in Tower Hamlets. She attended Mulberry School for Girls and later graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
In 2010, she became the first British Bangladeshi woman elected to Parliament and has since been a vocal advocate for underrepresented communities, especially around education, housing, and international development. Her work has often focused on breaking barriers for ethnic minorities and promoting equity in policy.
Ali currently owns three properties in London, one co-owned with a family member. While her net worth is not publicly disclosed, her property portfolio is valued at over £100,000, and her rental income exceeds £10,000 annually, in addition to her MP salary of £91,000 and any ministerial supplements.
She has never publicly disclosed any partner or children and is known to keep her personal life private.
The controversy comes as the government prepares to pass the long-delayed Renters’ Rights Bill, which aims to abolish fixed-term tenancies and prohibit landlords from re-listing a property for six months after terminating a tenancy to sell.
In the first quarter of 2025, there were 7,353 Section 21 “no-fault” evictions in England, according to Ministry of Justice data. Ali’s decision to not renew her tenants' lease — while technically legal — has intensified calls to fast-track reforms to protect renters.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended Ali, saying: “I don’t know any of the details of this but I understand she has followed all the rules in this case.”