Green deputy exposed as landlord despite party’s vow to abolish them

The deputy leader of the Green Party is a landlord despite his party’s policy to “abolish” them.

Mothin Ali, a Leeds city councillor who has been co-deputy leader of the Green Party in England and Wales since last September, is the owner of two private rental buy-to-let properties.

Ali, 44, bought both of the rental properties, which are believed to be occupied by tenants, in the Gipton area of Leeds where he is a councillor.

The Sunday Times reported that he bought a three-bed former council house for £165,000 in June 2022. The second was bought for £157,000 in March 2025. Both of the properties have buy-to-let mortgages.

In a statement, a Green Party spokesman said: “We have provided deeply personal information to [The Sunday Times] in confidence which shows that councillor Ali has acted solely in the interests of vulnerable close family members for whom he has caring responsibilities.

“At Councillor Ali’s request, we are not going to make this information public to protect his family.”

Mr Ali, who shouted “Allahu akbar” when elected a Leeds councillor in 2024, acquired the properties through his private limited company MA Holdings which was incorporated in December 2021 and of which he is the sole director.

Company accounts show that MA Holdings had £22,341 in the bank in 2024, an increase of £15,409 from 2023.

Ali denied that the cash was solely profit made from letting the first property he owned, adding that he had injected personal funds into the company.

He also declined to confirm how much rent he charged for each property.

The market rate for renting a three-bed property in the Gipton and Harehills area ranges from £1,000 to £1,300 a month.

In October, the Green Party passed their “abolish landlord” policy.

It would use taxes to make it hard for landlords to make a profit.

Leader Zack Polanski said in March that tenants were seen as “cash cows”.