Housing campaigners demand rent controls ahead of new Prime Minister

A housing coalition is calling on the next Prime Minister to introduce rent controls to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

The Renters’ Reform Coalition says a cap on rents would help make housing more affordable while allowing the government to increase housing benefit each year.

The call comes after Keir Starmer resigned as Prime Minister, with former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham widely expected to succeed him in the next few weeks.

Rent is growing faster than our wages

Clara Collingwood, director at the Renters Reform Coalition, said: “The next Prime Minister has no time to waste in delivering real improvements in our lives. With rent growing faster than our wages for 11 of the past 15 years, any attempts to address the cost-of-living crisis without regulating rent will be like trying to fill a leaking bucket.

“Whether or not you rent your home, everyone is paying for this cost of renting crisis, as unaffordable rents drive up poverty and homelessness and create huge costs for councils and the government.

“And renters pay that price twice over, with many forced to cut back on essentials to make ends meet, taking on debts or pushed out of our homes and communities by rising rents. We’re proud that our members, the biggest housing and renters’ groups in England, have agreed, it’s time for the government to bring in rent controls.”

Rent controls do more than good

The group claims analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has shown that a rent cap could leave renting households almost £1200 per year better off within four years.

Over the same timeframe they calculate a cap on rents would allow government to increase housing benefit each year while still reducing its overall cost by over £600 million.

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.”