Tenant group calls for rent controls to tackle London housing crisis

The London Renters Union is calling again for rent controls after data revealed tenants are paying nearly half of their income on rent.

MyLondon reports data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the average Londoner spends 41.6% of their income on rent.

Despite tenant groups pushing for rent controls to address the affordability crisis, as previously reported on Property118, rent controls do more harm than good.

London desperately needs rent control

According to MyLondon, earners should spend no more than 30% of their income on housing. However, all 32 boroughs in London have exceeded this level in eight of the nine financial years from 2016 to 2024.

The data shows that Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive borough for renters relative to income, where the average rent amounts to 74% of earnings. Renters in Westminster, Wandsworth, Camden, and Hammersmith & Fulham are all paying over half their income in rent.

The London Renters Union is now demanding that Mayor Sadiq Khan introduce rent controls.

Jae Vail, a spokesperson for the union, told MyLondon: “London desperately needs rent control. Housing costs have been too high for too long. Rip-off rents are forcing ordinary people to cut back on food, heating, and other essentials. For those of us who can no longer meet landlords’ extortionate demands, we are forced out of the communities that we have lived in for years or pushed into temporary accommodation.

“The government must follow the lead of many European countries and introduce rent control and invest in council housing so that everyone has a secure place to call home. Rent control would bring down rents steadily and give renters more control over our lives.”

Introducing rent controls could reduce supply

Mr Khan previously campaigned for rent controls during his mayoral election last year. However, research by the London Assembly indicates that introducing rent controls in the capital could reduce the number of homes available to rent by as much as 62%.

Emma Best, deputy leader of the City Hall Conservatives, previously told Property118 that introducing rent controls may seem like an easy solution but it is not a quick fix.

She said: “The fact that the mayor is still pushing rent controls, despite worldwide evidence and the London Assembly’s own research, simply comes down to the fact that there is a real issue.

“We know the private rented sector in London has grown exponentially, and costs have inflated over the last 20 years, with people paying a huge portion of their income on rent. But tackling that problem isn’t as simple as saying, ‘We will just control rents.’”

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