Rent control proposals could close off London to new residents

Rent control proposals could close off London to new residents

9:28 AM, 16th September 2020, About 4 years ago 3

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Proposals by the Mayor of London for rent controls in the capital would be a disaster for tenants. As Sadiq Khan once again seeks the powers to introduce them, the National Residential Landlords Association is pointing to a report published by The Treasury in 2010 under the last Labour Government, of which the Mayor was a member.

Assessing the impact of rent controls before they were abolished in 1988, the report warned that they had been a major factor in the “decay of much of the inner city housing stock.”

The Mayor’s proposals fly in the face also of the Centre for Cities which has warned that strict rent controls would close off London to new residents and the Resolution Foundation which has concluded that holding down the true market price of private housing via rent controls rather than increasing housing supply is unlikely to succeed.

Professor Kath Scanlon, a housing expert at the London School of Economics last year warned that the Mayor’s rent control proposals would result in landlords simply leaving the market.

Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association, said:

“Rent controls would be a disaster for anyone looking for somewhere to rent. As history and experience elsewhere tells us, all they would do is drive landlords out of the market exacerbating an already serious shortage of homes available.

“Rather than driving a wedge between landlords and tenants, the Mayor should focus on using the powers he already has to boost the supply of available housing, including for private rent. Only then will he make any discernible impact on improving the affordability of housing across the capital.”

“We do though support the Mayor’s calls for greater financial support for tenants struggling with rent arrears. In the end this would help them, and the majority of landlords who are individuals and not property tycoons, to sustain tenancies.”


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Comments

Dr Rosalind Beck

10:49 AM, 16th September 2020, About 4 years ago

I wrote something on this, pointing out how yields in London are already low, landlords are struggling with s24 and this would be the nail in the coffin.

https://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2019/09/kevin-hollinrake-and-rosalind-beck-rent-controls-would-hit-london-hardest.html

terry sullivan

10:55 AM, 16th September 2020, About 4 years ago

khan is not the mayor--his term ended in may--he has no mandate for anything
unfortunately boris is weak and has not fully removed him

Mike

18:31 PM, 16th September 2020, About 4 years ago

Oh the mayor has such an audacity to increase the congestion charges from £11.50 to £15.00 overnight, all during this pandemic when most people are losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet, their earnings heavily impacted, I really don't know where these people lose their common sense, you would think a son of a bus driver would know better how hard it is for people struggling to pay their bills and battle Covid-19 without him putting up congestion charges as well as expanding the Ultra Low emissions Zone to outer London Boroughs without consulting people, what a joke!
On top of this if you live in Newham, its Mayor is another senseless whatever you want to call her, also thinks money grows on trees, she wants to raise Resident motorists parking charges to unimaginable figures, I got a feeling Covid-19 has impacted our politicians in an adverse way, pollution is just a way to rip us all out, the impact of higher parking charges and higher congestion charges will also impact tenants and those not owning cars as money does not grow on trees so it must come from somewhere, landlords will naturally be increasing rents to pay for this damn thing, and yes Mayor of Newham, my tenants don't drive cars but they will also be paying for hike in my car parking charges, overall in my house hold I have two cars both pre 2005, so it will effect me by as much as £360.00, this money will have to come from higher rents from my tenants, because in my garden there isn't a money tree. And don't forget each time I take my car out, I will have to pay £12.50 to drive it around because it is well kept oldie, it does not meet latest emissions standards, but then again i only drive it less than 1000miles a year.

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