Rachel Reeves eyes landlords as soft target with plans to introduce rent controls
The Guardian is reporting that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering imposing a year-long rent freeze on landlords as a special measure to alleviate the cost of living crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
This will be debated by the government as a package of measures to reduce inflationary pressures on household budgets. The Treasury responded by saying it would not comment on ‘speculation’.
It would be far easier and cheaper for the government to legislate on landlords than tackle the rising cost of fuel, food and mortgage rates.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Introducing a rent freeze would be a disaster for landlord and investor confidence and consequently the supply of homes in England. Any hope of growing the market, or even retaining the homes that millions of families rely on, would be lost.
“There is no evidence to suggest that it would make rents more affordable. In fact, the impact on supply would inevitably drive new rents still higher. Such a move would run completely counter to good economic sense and the Government’s own prior decision to rule out such measures.
“At a time when demand for rental housing continues to significantly outweigh supply, we agree with the Housing Minister’s view that any form of rent controls would make life more difficult for renters.
“Even if these reports prove to be speculation, it is reckless for this kind of uncertainty to be created in the same week that major reforms already causing concern among landlords come into force. For many, it may be enough to conclude that this is the moment to exit the private rented sector for good.”
Cynically, one could see how this coincides with the imminent local elections in a desperate effort to buy votes.
As previously reported on Property118, the government has claimed it has no plans to introduce rent controls and, last month, said it opposed rent controls because they would “push landlords out of the market”.
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark comments: “With the UK Government introducing huge regulatory change through the Renters’ Rights Act, which will ultimately mean less flexibility and higher costs for landlords and tenants, it is alarming to hear reports that the Chancellor is considering additional rent control measures – particularly when Housing Ministers have recently publicly denounced their role.
“Evidence from across the UK, particularly in Scotland, shows rent controls restrict supply, deter investment, and reduce choice for tenants. Singling out landlords to solve the cost of living is not the answer.
“Rent controls risk distorting the market and undermining investment at a time when demand already far outstrips supply.
“If the UK Government is serious about improving affordability, it must focus on increasing housing supply and supporting long-term investment in the private rented sector, rather than introducing measures that will ultimately make it harder for renters to find a home.”
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Why fewer landlords are replacing those who exit
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 2037
3:39 PM, 29th April 2026, About 11 hours ago
Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 29/04/2026 – 07:13
According to the Guardian, even if no. 10 did entertain the idea of rent controls on properties in the private sector, it then dismissed them:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/28/no-10-dismisses-reeves-reported-plan-for-freeze-on-private-rents
The Green Party however have made it a flagship policy.
And that’s helpful, because that tells you who you should definitely not vote for in the local elections, because any party promoting rent controls, whilst ignoring tax policies disincentivising investment in the adoption of sustainable technologies, is not competent and has no real grasp on what it takes to embrace either sustainability or energy security.
Member Since May 2024 - Comments: 207
4:13 PM, 29th April 2026, About 11 hours ago
Just issues my firs form 4 due the RRA and tenant took it really well and was surprised that I didn’t do it years ago and was happy with the increase as it’s still no where near market rates, she knows how much houses go for these days.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 2037
4:47 PM, 29th April 2026, About 10 hours ago
Reply to the comment left by Desert Rat at 29/04/2026 – 16:13
A lot of landlords will be issuing form 4 now because of the Renters Rights Act; my agent already did it for me (having advised me that we should do it) some months ago, and of course I agreed because of rising interest rates and property expenses that I need to be sure of being able to cover not just over the next 12 months but also 1-5 years from now.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landlords-now-to-fulfil-new-legal-duty-for-renters-rights-act
But what the incompetent parties who talk about rent controls don’t realise is precisely that: Landlords are ISSUING form 4 BECAUSE of the renters rights act when previously they didn’t because they weren’t greedy, they were making enough and just wanted an easy life, or weren’t ‘professional’ landlords who would just be aware of what market rent was anyway. Even their agents didn’t advise them to do it historically because agents also like an easy life and don’t like the expense of marketing properties during void periods. In the short term the RRA means that landlords either have raised rents, or are now raising rents, when previously they didn’t care much or didn’t have to bother.
So because of the RRA small portfolio landlords are considering rents carefully in a way that they did not do before, and raising them to market rent when previously what they did was to provide competition. A secondary effect is that because small landlords are now having to raise rents, the effect of this is that to raise AVERAGE rent. This will push up the average market rent which means that rent inflation will continue.
Another effect of the RRA is that because a landlord can no longer accept an offer above advertised rents, agents now advertise properties at a premium, and as market rent is influenced by advertised rents, this also pushes up rent inflation.
If the labour government wanted to avoid all this inflationary pressure they should have asked the Competition and Markets Authority what the effect of the RRA would be on both rents and housing supply, and listened to the answer. But they just weren’t listening; if no. 10 did listen a couple of days ago to someone who told them that rent controls would raise rents that can only be a good thing.
It’s easy to spot the incompetent parties in the local elections: The most incompetent parties and most incompetent leaders are the ones talking about rent controls. If there are competent parties and leaders out there, they will be the ones recognising that stopping small landlords offsetting their finance payments against their rents is itself part of the problem of rent inflation, and being sufficiently competent communicators to get that message across to the electorate.