MORE than 150 tenants at risk of losing their homes in south London have demanded the council step in and protect them from “mass eviction.”

Residents at the St James estate in Bermondsey are set to stage a march and a street party on Saturday in protest of their landlord’s decision to raise rents by up to 40 per cent, to an additional £900 per month.

Rent hikes now risk pushing 150 residents out of their homes, after some residents have already been evicted with Section 21 notices, served before the Renters’ Right Act (RRA) came into effect.

The RRA came into law on May 1, abolishing no-fault Section 21 evictions.

Current residents faced with rent increases are in the process of challenging the decision in rent tribunals, with the hopes corporate landlord BMR Group and property agent Freshview will back down.

The St James Tenants’ group said that many of those being priced out of their homes have lived on the St James estate for more than 25 years, “raising children, supporting neighbours and building a close-knit community.”

They warned that despite the RRA’s new protections, tenants continue to be vulnerable to de-facto eviction from large rent increases.

Resident Abigail Bunyan said: “These houses are not an investment, they are homes that people have raised kids in, raised grandkids in.

“The people of this community being treated like this is beyond detestable.

“This whole area is often described as a forgotten area within Southwark, and it’s the long-term residents of this estate who should have a say in what happens here.”

South Bermondsey councillor Andy Bates slammed the landlord for a “model of displacing existing residents and using their homes for HMOs.”

BMR Group and Freshview were contacted for comment.