Poppy charity to evict tenants weeks before Labour curbs on landlords

The charity that makes Remembrance Day poppy wreaths has served tenants in a west London block of flats with “no- fault” eviction notices, just weeks before a new law banning them comes into effect.

In February, the Poppy Factory, a nonprofit organisation that assists veterans and works with the Royal British Legion on its annual appeal, told dozens of residents in a property it owns in Richmond that it was raising rents by as much as 35%, or £800, a month. The flats were purpose built for Poppy Factory workers and are now rented on the open market.

The letters, which were hand-delivered, said this was because of the Renters’ Rights Act, which comes into force from 1 May. People were given 14 days’ notice to agree to the new rates or move out. The residents include some on universal credit, and several with severe health and mobility issues.

Some tenants say they are living in properties that have not been properly maintained and have requested repairs in relation to black mould or other property.

A joint investigation by The Observer and BBC Radio 4’s The Naked Week has heard from one resident who was told of the rent increase just days after completing treatment for breast cancer. She asked the Poppy Factory for a meeting with representation from the tenants’ union Acorn but this was declined. Then she received a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice.

Another resident, a single mother who has lived with her child in a Poppy Factory flat for 14 years, said the letter left her “shaking and in a state of shock, thinking I’m going to be homeless. There’s no way I can afford this and they want it pretty much overnight.”

A property’s rental market value should be determined by multiple independent valuations, but the Poppy Factory refused to share details of the new valuations. Tenants had previously agreed to lower rent rises when they signed three-year contracts in the last year. They argue that specific rent figures were communicated before internal inspections of individual flats took place. Inspections appear to have been arranged afterwards, raising questions about how assumptions regarding market value were reached before the condition of properties had been assessed.

A Poppy Factory spokesperson said: “The affected homes are let on the open market and rents have often been well below local levels.

“We have a legal duty as a charity to collect reasonable market rent, to protect our work helping the most vulnerable veterans and their families. We extended our consultation with tenants and no one is being asked to pay more than others already pay for similar properties, or above market rent for the property condition.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “There’s absolutely no requirement to increase rent to full market levels ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force, and charities using legislation as an excuse to push renters on to the street deserve the public’s contempt. This behaviour proves why a Renters’ Rights Act is so necessary.”