New Era Residents

Question 1

What is it + where is it

Answer 1

• Housing estate in Hoxton, Hackney, London where approximately 100 families lived in 2015.
• provided affordable housing and has been home to many low-income families for 70 years

Question 2

What happened

Answer 2

• An $11 Bn asset firm, Westbrook Partner with offices in Manhattan and Mayfair, bought the estate with a view to immediately triple rents
• increased rents would have forced out the low income families replacing them with wealthier residents thus increasing the value of the land for future redevelopments/sale.

Question 3

How did the residents respond

Answer 3

-protests
-social media was used by residents and a celebrity figure Russel Brand to make their protest high profile.
- with help from the celebrity, a 300,000 signature petition was signed to Downing Street against the lans to double rent

Question 4

What were the other exogenous factor behind the residents protest

Answer 4

• house prices in London are rising because the land is becoming more valuable due to increased demand for people wanting to live there because of good transport links and job opportunities.
• Many foreign investments are buying up property therefore increasing prices
• most people moving into the area are wealthy people making poor people feel unwelcome

Question 5

What has been the outcome for the New Era residents

Answer 5

-dolphin living (small London based housing charity) took over housing estate -> acquiring estate from Westbrook partners in 2014
- personalised rent policy
- in partnership with Westminster city council, they have also set up the home ownership accelerator scheme
- current original 78 tenants will be able to stay in redeveloped site with the right to retun to a flat of equivalent size in a redeveloped new era.