Jennifer Brathwaite

Background

Jennifer was a councillor for Lambeth Council for 12 years and is a landlord and tenant lawyer by profession, specialising in leasehold enfranchisement. She was deputy leader of Lambeth Council, having held cabinet portfolios in Housing, Environment and Children Services. She has direct experience of the issues faced by those who live in social housing and those who are struggling to be housed.

Jennifer was a panel member and contributor to the Better Social Homes Review (published December 2022), which provided guidance on what the social housing sector needs to do to improve its performance and the experience of tenants. Being aware of the additional challenges Black and other ethnicities face in the housing sector, Jennifer has a strong commitment to equality and diversity and has led on Lambeth Council’s Equalities Commission. She has run her own law firm, been a partner for a well-regarded London firm of solicitors and is keen to raise awareness of the plethora of (often complex) housing/leasehold law, as sadly, good legislation does not automatically enforce itself. She has a particular interest in helping tenants and landlords to understand their contractual and statutory rights and obligations.

Having led Lambeth’s housing services with a hands-on approach, she has direct knowledge of the inner workings of a large housing provider and has seen, first-hand, how good and poor quality housing services impact people’s lives.