Welcome to our neighbourhood!
St. James Estate is a residential estate of 180 homes, a mix of single-family houses, maisonettes and apartment blocks. With many residents having lived here continuously since the 1990s, the estate is home to a thriving community of neighbours who care deeply about each other and for each other.
In November 2025, our old landlord (Folio London, a subsidiary of Notting Hill Genesis housing association) sold us to BMR Group Ltd, a corporate landlord. In 2026, they began attempting mass evictions and unaffordable rent rises on all of us, to try and convert our homes into unlicensed HMOs. But these are our homes, and we’re not leaving!
In May 2026, tenants came together to form an official TRA to help each other stay in our homes and push back against our mistreatment at the hands of our landlords.
News coverage
- Zeteo – “The Renters’ Rights Act Is Not Enough to Fix a Broken System”
Burnham’s broader ambition to move towards a “preventative state” – intervening before things reach a crisis point – is the right one. But the real crisis point isn’t rough sleeping. For renters like the St James community, it was the… Read more: Zeteo – “The Renters’ Rights Act Is Not Enough to Fix a Broken System” - Labour Hub – “Temporary accommodation is no remedy for mass eviction – the St James case”
In theory, some of the evicted residents could be placed back into new HMOs on the St James estate, only this time as homeless, with few rights and sharing what was once adequate space with strangers. All this would be… Read more: Labour Hub – “Temporary accommodation is no remedy for mass eviction – the St James case” - BBC News – “Southwark Council leader condemns rises in Bermondsey rents”
Tenants on a south London housing estate face either financial ruin or losing their homes, Southwark Council’s leader has said. Residents on Bermondsey’s St James Estate face Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notices and rent hikes of up to £500 a… Read more: BBC News – “Southwark Council leader condemns rises in Bermondsey rents”