Record rents push renters towards rent controls

More renters support rent controls to tackle high rents as they claim renting is becoming unaffordable, according to new data.

Findings by SpareRoom reveal that 77% of renters strongly support rent controls, while in the past 12 months, 32% of UK renters and 35% of London renters said they had been forced to move because their rent became unaffordable.

The news comes as Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, having previously called for rent controls to be introduced.

Only 5% of renters oppose rent controls

According to the data, two-thirds (67%) of UK renters had seen their rent increase in the past 12 months, with 42% experiencing rises in their current rental and 25% facing higher costs when moving into a new rental.

SpareRoom’s research found only 5% of renters oppose rent controls. Those against the policy said they were concerned it could lead to landlords leaving the market, reducing housing supply and driving up rents in the long term.

Matt Hutchinson, director at flatshare site SpareRoom, said: “Rents just hit record highs in six of the UK’s nine regions, and supply across the country has taken a battering as the Renters’ Rights Act came into effect.

“Although tenants are now better protected in the market, they are certainly not better off. Renters have been struggling with housing costs since the pandemic forced up prices steeply, and now supply is being squeezed, rents will only go up again unless action is taken.

“It’s easy to see why the majority of renters support rent controls, they’ll bring some much-needed relief from rent rises, but they won’t solve the underlying supply issue. The real question is whether Andy Burnham’s Labour government will manage to do what successive governments have failed to for decades and meaningfully increase the UK’s supply of affordable homes.”

Rent controls do more harm than good

However, as previously reported by Property118, rent controls do more harm than good.

According to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), while rent controls may initially lower rents for existing tenants, they typically lead to higher rents in uncontrolled sectors and reduce housing supply and quality.

Even in Scotland, the rent cap has been blamed for soaring rents, which have increased by 11.6%.

Data by Hamptons reveals Scottish landlords are increasing rents at a faster pace than anywhere else in Great Britain because of rent controls reshaping the market.

Lead analyst at Hamptons, David Fell, said: “The evidence from Scotland suggests that rent controls rarely work as intended.

“At best, they delay rent increases; at worst, they set a new benchmark where landlords feel compelled to increase their rents every year by the maximum allowed.

“Faced with uncertainty over future rules, many landlords choose to raise rents little and often rather than risk falling far below market levels.”