Council Blunder: Social Home Sold, Rent Explodes, Tenants Told To Feck Off

Social housing tenants are now at risk of homelessness after a Westminster Council blunder allowed 16 supposedly protected homes to be sold off and turned into private rentals.

Residents living in Gem House, Marylebone, say their new private landlord has hiked rents to as much as eight times their current payments — telling them to either meet the new charges or move out.

The 16 flats were able to be sold to Gem House Limited because a loophole in Westminster’s original agreement with the developer left them unprotected. The council did try to intervene — launching legal action to stop the new owner from turning the social homes into private rentals — but the challenge didn’t succeed.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal threw out Westminster’s challenge — leaving the landlord free to charge full Marylebone market rents, which are notoriously steep.

Westminster City Council has told the tenants — many of whom have already spent years shuttled through temporary accommodation — that they must now file a fresh homelessness application in order to be considered for rehousing.

Many families say they still don’t know where they’ll be living once summer ends. They were previously assured their flats were permanent, secure affordable homes — and now they’re blaming Westminster Council for the “blunder” that has left them in limbo.

Mr and Mrs Banjak, who live in Gem House with their three children, say they’ve been told their new rent will jump to £6,850 a month — more than eight times their current social rent of £793.

Unable to afford the increase, the family is now due to be evicted at the end of August, pending the outcome of a legal case.

The council has told them to file a homelessness application — a step the family says could leave them without knowing where they’ll be moved until only a few days before the eviction.

“It’s very, very horrible, especially because we don’t know where we’re going. That’s the biggest problem,” Mrs Banjak told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“They’ve given us no time at all. If we at least had an address, we could prepare and move calmly. Instead, we’re just stuck waiting — we still don’t know where we’re going.”

The 16 flats were sold to Gem House Limited after a loophole in the council’s original agreement with the developer allowed the transfer to go through. Westminster City Council later launched legal action in an effort to stop the new landlord from turning the social homes into private rentals.

A local mum called the idea of £6,000‑plus rent “a joke”, saying she struggles to afford her Pret subscription as it is. A retired neighbour remarked that loopholes “never seem to work in favour of ordinary people”. A bus‑stop regular said being told a home was “secure” only to be pushed out shows Westminster “needs to sort itself out”. A teenager said their landlord’s £50 rise “nearly made them faint”, calling £6,850 “criminal”. And a shop worker compared the homelessness application process to “filling out a Nectar card form”.

It’s supposed to be social housing — but at this point it’s about as “social” as a bouncer telling you the club’s full while you can see ten empty tables behind him.

Housing associations charge more than council properties — it’s basically social housing wearing designer prices and pretending it shops at Lidl.

Why are housing associations more expensive? Because they’re basically social housing that’s gone to private school.

They start off all “We’re here for the community!” and then hand you a rent bill that looks like it’s been calculated by someone who thinks a meal deal costs £14.99.

They’re not here for the community — they’re here for profit. Full stop. Housing associations talk like they’re running a warm little neighbourhood charity, but behave like they’re auditioning for The Apprentice.

They’re not here for the community; they’re here for profit — and if you can’t afford to pay it, then feck off. Housing associations have the same energy as a fancy restaurant that charges £19 for a salad and then acts shocked when you ask for tap water.