Hundreds march to Benyon Estate offices in protest at New Era rent hikes

Dickensian: New Era estate resident Danielle Molinari with Russell Brand at the protest. Photograph: Greg Holland
Residents of Hoxton’s New Era estate under threat of eviction led a protest march on Saturday against rent hikes brought in by the estate’s new owners.
Flanked by hundreds of supporters, including comedian and activist Russell Brand and Hare Krishna, the residents led the march to the doors of the Benyon Estate offices in De Beauvoir.
The protesters, some of whom wore Dickensian costumes, then served a mock eviction on the part-owners and property managers that look after 300 properties in De Beauvoir Town and now the 90 homes on the 1930s estate.
The Benyon Estate bought a ten per cent stake in former New Era owners LBS Holdings Ltd in April with US property speculators picking up the other 90 per cent, before the company’s name was changed to Hoxton Regeneration Ltd.
The protesters then visited one of estate manager’s Edward Benyon’s properties currently under refurbishment, where Brand clambered up the scaffold and unfurled a banner calling for ‘social housing not social cleansing’.
Both properties were issued with mock eviction notices – a prospect the tenants face themselves if they are unable to afford the proposed trebling of rents from the social-equivalent rates they currently enjoy.
No one from The Benyon Estate, which is part-owned by Britain’s richest MP Richard Benyon, was at home to talk the crowd, something that campaign chairwoman and New Era resident of 22-years Lindsey Garrett expected.

The Benyon Estate offices were served with a mock Section 21 eviction notice. Photograph: @architectjj
She said: “We’ve heard nothing from Benyon for a month. We feel completely left in the dark. He’s made no attempt to talk to us and is carrying on as though it’s business as usual. I think he’s hoping we’re going to go away.”
“We want to get our message across to The Benyon Estate that we’re not going anywhere,” she added.
Ms Garrett said she wants the new owners to sell the estate to a more ethical landlord who would maintain the social rents which would have been closer to market rates before the area became trendy.
Like the Focus E15 Mums, Ms Garrett has made it clear their crisis is not one that only affects them.
On the march there were tenants from across London facing a similar fate as landlords increase their rents beyond their means. The plan is to organise bigger events together maybe a little closer to parliament, she said.
But with the law on the side of the landlords, Phil McLeish, an activist from Hackney private renters group Digs, said that what really needs to change is the law itself.
He said: “The interest of landowners are being put way above the existing tenants who have been living there for a long time. The rent increases that have been proposed will inevitably mean the displacement and removal of a lot of people for who this part of London is their home.”
As things stand the tenants will have to leave – or be evicted – when they can no longer afford their rents. A possibility Hackney Council’s mayor Jules Pipe has said will “tear the heart out” of the local community.
Ms Garrett said that while the Council said it would make them a priority, their own limited stock could mean they are forced from the borough.
She said: “The council are saying that we would be a priority to be re-housed, but it would be outside of the borough or temporary accommodation in hostels and over 65s in sheltered accommodation. They’ve stressed to us on numerous occasions they don’t have [enough social housing] in Hackney’.
Meanwhile Edward Benyon has stated that his company is doing what it can to mitigate Westbrook Partners’ plans.
On his website he wrote: “A condition of working with Westbrook on the property management was to ensure that the residents of the New Era Estate were properly supported, and given ample warning of any changes to their situation.
“Despite having no legal rights to extensions, the 89 assured shorthold tenants (and their families) have been offered a further 12-month contract at discounted rents. Without our involvement, the new owners will terminate the existing leases, which they are entitled to do, refurbish the flats and then let them all out at 100% of full market rents.”
Hoxton Regeneration Ltd. were unavailable for comment.
Benyonism.
Has a certain ring to it.
Not as gothic as Rachmanism. But the same thing. And it’ll do the same job if used properly
Dick & Ed Benyonism has a better wring to it don’t you think?
Fight the good fight,
With all of your might,
Evil and greed,
Will never succeed.
There were two men that were rich,
Who wanted a piece of Shoreditch.
This Hoxton by name,
So trendy became,
They needed some help from a witch.
These two men were Eddy and Dick,
But they were both a bit thick.
Meg the witch, said she would,
Do all that she could,
But even she couldn’t find , the right trick.
The New Era Families, will win,
For they have committed no sin.
So Meg Dick and Ed,
Can jump into bed,
Perhaps a threesome will make them grin.
I suppose ALL private tenants could refuse to pay over an agreed fair rent until political action forced landlords to behave responsibly.
A rent strike, in effect.
But what are the chances of that?
This piece does at least mention the fact that the Benyon Estate itself holds only 10% of New Era – although it is now managing the entire estate, the rest of which having been recently bought by a U.S. based investment fund. So I’m not sure ‘Benyonsim’ is an entirely fair coinage for what is happening here – and has happened elsewhere for years. It’s a great opportunity for Brand to prance around like the Artful Dodger but this is really just another case of the country gradually being sold off to international investors. The Benyons are extremely wealthy and an obvious target but they are at least a family firm with a name and a face – although Richard Benyon MP will doubtless regret this new notoriety. As far as I know they have no previous history of being anything other than fair landlords. The real owners of New Era however are barely identifiable – the floating international class of speculators and investors most of whom have probably never been to Hackney (and if so probably only their trust-fund hippy spawn to Hoxton raves). There’s a nice Dickensian tone to these protests but the real villain is altogether harder to pin down – the faceless vampire Capital itself.
It is totally unacceptable that people with no connection with the tenants should raid their estate. They are no better than crooks, destroying homes and families without a care. Sheer uncontrolled greed; this must not be allowed to happen. Wake up Cameron, wake up Basil, these are your countryfolk.
I believe Brand has a new book out? Call me a cynic, but has anyone seen him at other community-concern events throughout tne years, ie. when he hasn’t got a new book out?
I went through this on my estate in 2009 exactly the same thing my heart goes out to these people. Unfortunately all these large private estates are vulnerable to this type of thing our estate went to auction and a lot of people could not afford to stay and had to move on many had lived there all their lives. A housing association should have bought us I hope the residents of new era have better luck, my thoughts are with you.
These private Estates where tenants pay peppercorn rent are vulnerable especially older estates where there is a need of modernisation they get suddenly sold on. These type of estates should be taken over by councils or housing associations many of these tenants will have to go for shared ownership in the end I had to do this.
We found out on my estate suddenly all the suits descended and started photographing the buildings walking round speaking in whispers. I feel for these guys