The Mayor of London has restated calls for government ministers to take urgent action to fix London’s housing system by introducing rent controls.
His pleas come as new data has revealed unchecked private rents are on course for a dramatic rise.
According to Rightmove, the current average private rent in the capital stands at £2,567 a month, but new data suggests this figure could rise to over £2,700 a month.
City Hall analysis predicts that a two-year rent freeze would save private renters an average of £3,374 over the course of the two years.
In response, Mayor Sadiq Khan has again pleaded for the government to introduce rent controls.
He said: “These figures reveal the clearest picture yet of why rent controls are so necessary.
“Private renters make up nearly a third of everyone living in the capital, but they are being consistently let down by a Government that refuses to listen and take urgent action to protect them from even greater financial hardship.”
Ben Twomey, Chief Executive of private renter support group Generation Rent, added: “Spiralling rents are driving families into poverty and on to the streets. That is why we support the Mayor’s call for devolved powers to take action to stabilise rents.
“The average London renter is already putting 40% of their wages straight into their landlord’s pocket, and this situation shows no sign of improving on its own.
“Controlling rents doesn’t address the lack of homes that allows landlords to charge so much on new tenancies. To tackle that we also need a big increase in the supply of social and affordable homes, and the Mayor is right to call for funding to build as much of this as possible in London.
“Without action, Londoners will continue to face sky-high rents which are forcing the likes of nurses and teachers out of the city and hollowing out our communities.”
Although the Conservative government is yet to respond to this latest plea, it has previously rejected similar demands from the London Mayor, claiming that introducing a rent freeze would worsen the housing crisis by restricting the supply of properties.
Moreover, earlier this year Sir Keir Starmer’s office made it clear they had no plans to introduce rent controls or devolve such powers to the Major of London.
Shadow Communities Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has stated in regard to rent controls that “it might be politically easier to put a sticking plaster on our deep-seated problems, but if it is cowardice that got us here, it is never going to get us out”.
