Green councillor calls for local rent control powers

A councillor has claimed rent controls must be introduced to stop renters from “being plunged into economic hardship.”

Green councillor Alex Mace put forward a motion to Worcester City Council calling for rent controls to be introduced in the city.

Cllr Mace said that while the Renters’ Rights Act will strengthen renters’ rights, it does not go far enough to tackle soaring rents.

People before profit

In a council meeting, Green councillors urged Worcester City Council to vote in favour of the motion, arguing that the government should devolve rent control powers to local authorities.

The Green councillors pointed to a growing number of local authorities and leaders calling for powers to introduce rent controls in the private rented sector, including the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Bristol City Council. Mr Khan previously campaigned to introduce rent controls during his London mayoral campaign.

The councillors also pointed to the Scottish government introducing powers for councils to implement rent controls.

Green councillor Alex Mace claimed rent controls would put people before profit.

He said: “Worcester’s spiralling housing costs are central to the cost of living crisis in our city, with private renters being among the hardest hit. Without making renting more affordable, thousands of residents in the city will continue to face staggering costs, be plunged further into economic hardship and be priced out.

“Rent controls are far from a panacea, they will not fix the housing crisis alone or overnight. However, they are a necessary tool to transition to a housing system which puts people before profit.”

Do not support rent controls

Cllr Mace added that while the Renters’ Rights Act is an important piece of legislation, it does not tackle the affordability crisis, as rents can still be raised to market levels.

However, Liberal Democrat councillors voted against the motion, with councillor Jessie Jagger saying: “We will be voting against the motion as we do not support rent controls. We want to send a clear message to the market that this is not a policy we want to pursue.”

The motion was approved by Worcester City Council with an amendment requiring the council’s communities committee to first consider how the Renters’ Rights Act has impacted residents before writing to the Housing Secretary to request that the government allow local authorities to introduce controls on private sector rents.

The full council meeting can be seen by clicking here with the rent control motion starting at 1:05:58