AN ESTIMATED 5,000 protesters took part in the largest demonstration for affordable housing in more than a decade on Saturday.

The National Housing Demonstration saw tenants protest in central London with the backing of more than 50 grassroots groups, trade unions tenant unions such as Acorn, Generation Rent and Greater Manchester Tenants Union, as well as politicians from Your Party and the Greens.

Speeches were given outside the offices of Blackstone, one of the world’s biggest landlords, where a large landlord-shaped effigy was ceremonially destroyed.

Ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act, which comes into force on May 1, protesters demanded rent controls and council homes, warning that Labour’s plans to hand more power to private developers will mean even higher rental prices for residents.

Jae Vail, of the London Renters Union, said: “It’s time for the government to put renters before their super-rich mates. 

“It’s time to cut rents with rent controls and invest in council homes so that we can end the housing crisis for good.”