She taught tenants how to organise, determine their legal rights and collectively fight landlords.
The Stepney Tenants’ Defence League was organised by the Communist Front and women chaired most of the tenants’ committees formed in tenement blocks, organised opposition to attempted evictions attempts, and even demonstrated in the West End of London to highlight the plight of east London slum-dwellers.
[1] In 1938 the decontrol of much housing in the area and proposed rent increases of up to 40% led to STDL becoming even more active, and Ella Donovan, the wife of an unemployed hall porter, became a full-time organizer.
This was a time when women who previously had not been engaged in activism, ‘lost their fear of the landlord and learnt their own organized power’ in Ella's own words.
[2] By the end of January 1939, the STDL had four central officers and 10 local committees, and could count on nearly 5000 affiliated members.