Hundreds of people marched in the London borough of Newham on Saturday to protest against forced evictions taking place as a result of "private developers and gentrification".
The march was attended by a large number of local activist groups and was led by Focus E15, a campaign started in 2013 by a group of single mothers who made headlines after they occupied an empty block of council-owned homes in the Carpenters estate in Newham to protest against threats of eviction and relocation outside of London.
Despite reports that Newham council had threatened the mothers with court action and had even tried to get them out by cutting off water supplies, the women last year left the estate of their own accord after forcing the council to rehouse 28 women in the borough. The campaign also says it forced Newham's mayor, Robin Wales, to reopen around 40 council homes that had been left empty for nearly 10 years.
Despite the campaign's victory, however, many Newham residents say housing problems have only been getting worse since.
"My rent has gone up by more than £100 a week since since I moved here a few years ago," said Emily Snell, who lives near the Westfield shopping centre.
"My husband's working longer hours to pay for it. After that, we have enough to pay for essentials like bread, milk, eggs, but that's it really."
Snell told BuzzFeed News that similar hikes in rent were happening in most of the area as a result of the Olympic Village, made to accommodate the London Olympic games in 2012.
"The council care about the rich people, the ones who can afford to buy the new flats here and just leave them empty," she said.
Many at the march expressed their anger at Wales, whom they accused of "allowing huge cuts in social and housing services to take place" and providing little help to people threatened with evictions.
"I have friends who have been threatened with repossession unless they move out of their homes at the end of this month," Aamiraah, a resident of the neighbouring borough of Tower Hamlets said.
"They wrote to the council asking what they could do – these are just two women, no family, no friends, all alone – and the council basically said to them that they should take anywhere they can live, even if that means moving out of London."
Some attending the march said they had been the victims of rogue landlords but hadn't received any help from the council.
"We were evicted because the council found out that my landlord was renting his house illegally" Sultan Ely, originally from Bangladesh, told BuzzFeed News.
He attended the march with his wife and his two children, who are 8 and 5 years old.
"I didn't know what to do – I was told I couldn't live in the house anymore, and we were moved to temporary accommodation in East Ham," he said.
"We've got until the end of the month to find another place to live, and I still haven't found a place. The council have not been helpful at all."
Others on the march said poor treatment from local councils had forced them to find other areas to live in.
"I was evicted from my house [in Newham] last year, without advice on what I needed to do next," said Rose (left) of the Haringey Housing Action Group.
"I was given some temporary accomodation, but it was horrible. The house was small, dirty, and the bathroom was so bad – it was actually outside of the main house.
"In the mornings when you would go in there were a lot of insects and cockroaches everywhere. The owner of the properties didn't listen to my complaints, and I didn't know what to do."
Rose said she had to move to north London earlier this year, where "there was more help available", but said she's continuing to campaign for families stuck in similar situations to her.
A number of marchers living outside of Newham said they attended to raise awareness of the housing crisis affecting all of London.
London students Lauren McKillop, 22, Clara Sjolin, 21, and Lucy Paffard, 20, told BuzzFeed News that they were struggling to get by because their student accommodation was barely affordable on their student loans.
"I was working at a local shop while I was studying," Paffard said. "But the shop has closed down now, so I'm not sure how I'll be able to afford my accommodation this year.
"Many students are now working one or two jobs alongside studying just to get by – we've told the university about the situation and how the rising accommodation prices are leaving us with little to live on. But the university says it can't do much to help us."
Many women, including those still living in the Focus E15 hostel, told BuzzFeed News that the council treated them unfairly when they requested new housing as a result of being evicted.
"I'm being evicted in a couple of weeks but I can't get anywhere affordable to live from the council," said Ibtisan (left), who currently lives in the hostel.
"Rents around here have been going up by more than £200, to levels that I can't afford. I brought this up with other people here in the same position to Robin Wales, and all I was told is that London was too expensive for me."
Ibtisan says that due to arthritis, she has been unable to work, but because her illness is not considered "life-threatening" she is not a priority for social housing.
"I've been working since I was 17, but I physically can't because of my health. But the council don't really care about that."
Ibtisan's friend Fathiya (right) has also been told she will be evicted from the hostel at the end of November, and has been refused accommodation in London.
"They tried to move [Fatiyha] to Southend, where she doesn't know anyone, has no roots, and it's far away from her family," Ibtisan said. "And they stuck her in a house that was cold, and didn't have things like double glazing or even doors that could be secured at night."
Others said threats of eviction meant that women escaping domestic abuse were becoming more vulnerable.
"I left my husband five years ago because he was abusive," said Sara, who did not want to use her actual name or disclose personal details for security reasons.
"He still lives in London but he does not know where I am.
"I have been living in here since then, but I know people who live close by who have been evicted with nowhere to go.
"I am very scared this will happen to me. I don't earn a lot of money so I could not afford to pay more rent. And if I am kicked out, then what do I do? Go back to my old life, or live on the streets?"