City Hall Conservatives challenge landlord stereotypes and blame Sadiq Khan for London’s housing crisis
10 months ago | 8 comments
Sadiq Khan pushes for rent controls under new devolution powers
9:51 AM, 17th September 2025, 7 months ago
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan claims ‘the power to cap rents’ is top of his list in new powers under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.
During the London Assembly Mayor’s Question Time, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett asked Mr Khan whether he would push the government to cap rent increases, and he confirmed it was his priority.
The news comes after Mr Khan previously campaigned to introduce rent controls during his London Mayoral campaign.
Everything within my power to improve renting
At the moment, Mr Khan does not have any powers to directly regulate private rents but claims he has done “everything within my power to improve renting” and the enforcement of private renting. He claimed his online checker tool “holds landlords to account and helps renters see who they are renting from.”
The London Mayor also pointed out the English Devolution white paper, which agreed to devolve selective licensing powers to London, saying this would “give councils the power to regulate the private rented sector in consultation with City Hall.”
Under new rules introduced last year, all councils are able to introduce selective licensing schemes of any size without needing approval from the Secretary of State.
Mr Khan claims selective licensing is one of the best tools to improve standards, but, as previously reported by Property118, this is not the case.
Top of the list of priorities
Under the devolution bill, mayors can request powers from the government, including powers to cap rent increases.
Ms Garbett asked whether the Mayor would be requesting powers to cap rent increases.
Mr Khan said: “I’ve been lobbying for some time to devolve to different parts of the country the ability to have rent controls.”
He gave the hypothetical example that Greater Manchester might choose not to introduce rent controls, whereas London would.
He added that while the Devolution Bill is currently going through Parliament, he wants to streamline “the clunky process” for requesting rent-control powers, but assured Assembly Members that this is one of his main priorities for devolution.
When pressed again by Ms Garbett on whether capping rents was his top priority, Mr Khan replied: “It is one of the things, but it’s a long list.”
When pressed again by Ms Garbett on whether capping rents was his top priority for devolution, Mr Khan replied: “It is one of the things, but it’s a long list.”
Labour government not keen on rent controls
Mr Khan admitted that, in his conversations with the Labour government, ministers had been “not keen” on rent controls but said he would keep trying.
Ms Garbett pointed to an amendment to the Devolution Bill that would give the Housing Secretary powers to introduce rent caps, which Mayors could then request.
However, Mr Khan said he did not believe the amendment would pass, adding that he lacked confidence in getting 326 MPs to back it.
When Ms Garbett urged him to support the amendment, Mr Khan declined, saying only that he would take her advice on board.
The full video can be seen below
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Member Since March 2023 - Comments: 1506
5:44 PM, 17th September 2025, About 7 months ago
Excellent news, this will finally make up the minds of London landlords who are dithering about whether to sell or not.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1999
6:00 PM, 17th September 2025, About 7 months ago
Reply to the comment left by John Gelmini at 17/09/2025 – 17:41
I was watching one of Alice Roberts’ programmes once about the difficulty with groups in society becoming ‘othered’.
Unfortunately, the conservative party, labour and above all the SNP have been ‘othering’ landlords for years. And that’s despite the fact that most of them have been doing a good job, investing in housing and putting a roof over somebody’s head.
Left-wing extremism drives right-wing extremism. One is as bad as the other. They are all nuts and all dangerous.
Member Since May 2014 - Comments: 616
7:53 PM, 17th September 2025, About 7 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 17/09/2025 – 13:05
“There is none so dim as those who will not see”
Since Khan became mayor of London he has done his best (egged on by the Greens) to try to bring in rent controls.
He does not appear to have done his homework or taken lessons from history because if he had he would be aware of the unmitigated disaster that rent controls were pre1988 rent act and now more recently in Scotland.
He has also limited the number of short term lets in London to 90 days/year on airbnb.
Member Since September 2025 - Comments: 1
3:55 AM, 18th September 2025, About 7 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Decent landlord at 17/09/2025 – 10:44
Plus the selective licence fees [councils spend on bureaucracy and not improving standards], plus costs of non paying tenants in a portfolio with councils instructing them to sit tight for years until bailiffs finally arrive, plus call outs to fix tasks tenants are responsible for [unblock drain grate full of tenants cigarette buts……]
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1999
6:48 PM, 18th September 2025, About 7 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Jeffrey Martin at 18/09/2025 – 03:55
Yes, I’ve had all that. But in my case it was paying for call outs to unblock drains that were blocked by the tenants’ teenage daughters putting materials other than toilet paper down the toilets. I still had to pay.
Even if you have a tenant that pays the rent it is still much harder to be a landlord today than it was twenty years ago. And it’s not that we weren’t doing a good job twenty years ago.
But when the Renters Reform Bill comes in and you’ve got no chance of getting a problem tenant out of the property because it’s not just the drains that are blocked up, the courts are now all blocked up, what this means is that there are more tenants who you will not be able to CONSIDER housing.
The only people that the RRB will help are agents and possibly very large companies with lots of properties on their books who will be able to advertise their BUSINESS as opposed to advertise A PROPERTY and will therefore be able to maximise their rents without falling foul of the requirement in the RRB not to take more than the advertised rent.
The true impact of the RRB wasn’t thought through and because labour has such a big majority it just dismissed many of the concerns raised by the house of lords.
But one of the bits of collateral damage from the RRB is that the left-wing people forcing the RRB through will actually generate right-wing extremism as some of those people who can’t be housed get marginalised.
Angela Rayner never was going to build 1.5 million homes. The new housing secretary isn’t going to do it either.