Khan Says London Election Will Be Vote On Rent Controls

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is launching his re-election campaign with a challenge to Boris Johnson to allow rent controls to be introduced if Khan wins another term in office. Khan said victory on 7 May would mean Johnson could no longer ignore demands for the policy as he would be “ignoring the democratic will of millions of Londoners”. Kickstarting his campaign at a housing estate in Hackney, the mayor said: “The case for rent controls is now absolutely undeniable. But Tory ministers have blocked us from introducing our plans for rent controls in London and have simply said no.” Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/03/sadiq-khan-says-london-election-will-be-vote-on-rent-controls

Labour’s Rent Control Pledge ‘Most Popular’ On Run-Up To Election

A new survey commissioned by BECG and conducted by Savanta ComRes has shown that Labour’s pledge to introduce rent controls is the most popular built environment manifesto pledge as the UK prepares for polling day. As outlined in reports, almost three-quarters of voters (74%) support this policy – but only when not “explicitly connected” to party leader Jeremy Corbyn. The survey asked for the public’s views on the main built environment pledges from the three main parties. Read more on the BECG website.

https://becg.com/general-election-news-2019/built-environment-survey/

Labour Vows To Cap Rent Rises For Private Tenants

Labour has vowed to "put bad landlords out of business" and bring in rent controls in England, if it wins power. Private rents would not be allowed to go up by more than inflation - and landlords would be fined for letting out sub-standard property. A Labour government would also bring in "open-ended" tenancies, to protect tenants from unfair evictions. The Tories have also set out plans to help tenants - including scrapping "no fault" evictions. Under Labour's "private renters' charter", landlords would face an annual "property MOT", with fines of up to £100,000 or forced repayment of rent if their properties are found to be sub-standard. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50540436

Think Tank Wants Rent Controls And Lifelong Tenancies

Rent controls, lifelong tenancies, a public landlord database and an end to Section 21 are among the calls in a report by the New Economics Foundation. The think tank has outlined a number of proposals it wants political parties to adopt in order to reform what it describes as the “broken economy”. It proposes:

·         An end to Section 21 repossessions and the introduction of lifetime and open-ended tenancies.

·         The creation of a publicly accessible database of landlords and rents.

·         A model of rent controls that would limit rents within and between tenancies and bring rents down to levels affordable on local incomes.

Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/think-tank-wants-rent-controls-and-lifelong-tenancies/

Khan To Look At Imposing Rent Controls In London

The mayor of London has hinted that he is considering introducing rent controls across the capital in a radical overhaul of private rental laws. Sadiq Khan told an MP that London needed to adopt a “strategic approach to rent stabilisation and control”, since the arguments in favour of capping rent inflation are becoming “overwhelming”. Although national legislation governs private sector renters’ rights, tenancies and rents themselves, it is understood that Khan will begin to advocate for fundamental change in order to tackle overinflated rents, in a move which could lead to councils assuming greater powers. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/10/mayor-sadiq-khan-to-look-at-imposing-rent-controls-in-london

Labour Party Calls For Scrapping Of Section 21 And Renters’ Unions

In his speech to the Labour Party Conference John Healey called for a wide range of reforms to the private rented sector, including the establishment of renter’s unions, the introduction of rent controls, and the scrapping of section 21. The plans aim to put power in the hands of tenants through the creation of a £20m fund to set up and support the expansion of renters’ unions which will:

• Provide practical support and information, including experienced representatives accompanying tenants to meetings with landlords

• Support tenants in disputes with landlords

• Give renters a stronger national voice and coordinate national campaigns to demand better conditions and a fairer system.

Read more on the NLA website.

https://landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/labour-party-calls-scrapping-section-21-and-renters-unions

Does The UK Need Rent Controls?

The majority of financial professionals believe that the UK needs to enforce rent controls, according to a recent survey.  In the poll conducted by Bridging & Commercial, 71% of respondents were in favour of enforcing rent controls on the UK, while 29% believed that such enforcement wasn’t needed. However, specialist finance lenders have argued that rent controls could result in a drop in supply and quality of accommodation. Read more on the Bridging & Commercial website.

Rent Control The Way Forward Say Labour

The first political conference of 2017 kicked off in Brighton on 27 September, with Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn announcing that if they win the next General Election, they will introduce rent controls for the private rented sector. Rent control has been promised by Labour as far back as 2015, with their Party Manifesto claiming, "For the 11 million people who rent privately, we will legislate to make three-year tenancies the norm, with a ceiling on excessive rent rises" and later in their 2017 manifesto "Labour will make new three-year tenancies the norm, with an inflation cap on rent rises.” Read more on the ARLA website.

Housing Crisis 'Single Most Important Driver of Poverty,'

UK government proposals to manage the housing crisis through rent controls are doomed to fail, according to a critical new report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). In the UK, tenants are saddled with rents on average almost 50% higher than those in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. British politicians across the political spectrum agree that the UK is in the grips of a serious housing crisis. The average private sector rent in London has reached 62% of average income. And even across the rest of the UK, renters are spending nearly 20% more of their incomes on rent payments than their European counterparts. Put simply, housing in the UK, and renting in particular, is the most expensive in Europe. Read the report on the IEA website.

Landlords Would 'Sell Up Rather Than Cut Rents'

London landlords are opposed to rent controls and many would sell up if they were forced to cut or cap their rents, according to a report commissioned by the London Assembly. Others warned they would have no incentive to invest in maintenance if the government tried to stabilise rent. The cost of a new tenancy in London jumped 11.9% between 2013 and 2014. The survey of 174 landlords analysed six proposals for cutting, capping or freezing private sector rents. Read more on the London Assembly website.

The Case Against Rent Controls And Rent Freezes

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has made a detailed case against so-called 'rent stabilisation' measures.  The London Assembly Housing Committee asked for comments from across the industry and consumer organisations in response to a number of questions, including ‘Which rent stabilisation measures do you think operate effectively in other countries?’ and ‘What more can the Mayor do to support the development of build-to-let and commercial landlords?’   ARLA sent a 36-point response, and a summary from the association's website summarises the case this way: “Fundamentally ARLA is not in favour of introducing rent stabilisation measures in London. In March we surveyed our members and nearly three quarters of them said that rent control, longer tenancies and less freedom to evict tenants will not benefit tenants in reality.” Read more on the Letting Agent Today website.

Sky-High Rents Prompt Calls for New Controls on Landlords

London has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent a home, prompting politicians to call for New York-style controls on landlords. In 18 of London’s 33 boroughs, the median rent for a one-bedroom flat is more than £1,000 a month, government statistics show. In Greater London, the rent for a one-bedroom flat has risen by an average of 22% over the past five years, the Valuation Office Agency data reveals. Rent controls – or rent stabilisation, as it is referred to in New York – are not caps on monthly rent: they are usually restrictions on in-contract rent increases and lease conditions, such as length of tenancy. This prevents landlords pushing rents up to overheated levels. Read more on the Guardian website.

Shelter Warns Blunt Rent Cap Could Harm Tenants

Capping rents could force landlords out of the market and make life harder for tenants if it is done too bluntly, the housing charity Shelter has warned. In a report commissioned by the charity and shared with the Guardian, researchers from the University of Cambridge said “hard rent controls” would remove landlords’ financial incentive to invest in their properties, and lead to poorer quality homes. A survey of landlords carried out for the report found 31% claiming they would sell all or some of their properties immediately if rents were frozen, meaning less choice for those in the private rented sector. Researchers also warned of a serious risk that a blunt cap on rents would encourage the growth of a black market not subject to rent regulation.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Generation Rent Calls For Secretary Of State for Housing

Generation Rent has published its own ‘Queen Speech on housing’ policy document, sponsored by the youth network of the CWU trade unions. The document says that the housing crisis cannot be fixed without proper leadership, effective regulation, a commitment to “wean the country off rising house prices” and investment in public housing. The demands include a position of Secretary of State for Housing, protections for tenants when their landlord wants to sell the property, and a system of rent control and tax on landlords, which it says would raise money for a public house building programme. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Labour Will Start Construction on 1m New Homes By 2020

Ed Miliband has upped his offer on housebuilding by saying a Labour government will “start construction on 1m new homes by 2020” – an increase on the party’s pledge last year to build 200,000 home a year by 2020. The pledge, part of a package on housing held back by Miliband from the manifesto launch until the campaign itself, was combined with a pledge first made in 2010 but apparently dumped to offer a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers on homes worth up to £300,000. Labour polling shows that offers to build vast numbers of houses annually do not play as well with voters as specific offers to help first-time buyers. Polling also suggests rent control is a popular policy. Read more on the Guardian website.

Majority Support for Rent Controls

A new YouGov poll reveals broad support for rent controls, with 60% in favour of limiting the amount that landlords can charge renters and 25% opposed. The net +35 support for the policy is up from +23 in May last year. Conservatives, whose party have denounced rent controls, are divided on the issue – 42% support, 44% oppose.  An exclusive YouGov poll of MPs has found 65% of Labour MPs in favour of rent controls, while 5% are opposed and 31% say it depends on the details of the policy. 77% say it is at least somewhat likely that some form of rent controls will be introduced in the coming years. Labour have an 11 point lead over the Conservatives on the issue of housing – in line with their average lead of 9 points since June 2014. Read more on the YouGov website.

Why Labour's Rent Cap Won't Make Your Rent Cheaper

Labour’s proposal to cap rent increases at inflation for the first three years of a tenancy will help your tenure security because rent is the number one tool landlords use to get rid of a tenant. They have almost no restrictions on rent hikes so if they want you gone, they can just put rent up to an unaffordable level. Or if they don’t want you gone, they can raise the rents to make sure they’re squeezing tenants until their pips squeak. But by definition, with no market controls, this is the market rent, and Labour’s proposal is not a market control that will keep your rent down. This is because they have no plans to limit rent rises between tenancies – or indeed after your first three years are up. Read more on the Generation Rent website.

Generation Rent Renews Call for Rent Controls

The latest Buy-to-Let Index might bring a smile to investors’ faces but it has prompted Generation Rent to reiterate a call for rent controls and a state-led programme to build more affordable housing.  Rents have risen by 15.2% since 2010 – 3.6% beyond CPI inflation. The average rent across England and Wales has risen from £667 per month in May 2010 to £768 as of March 2015. Furthermore, annual rent rises have accelerated to the fastest pace in two years, with the average rent across England and Wales up 3.7% over the last 12 months.  The average landlord has seen a gross return of £21,078 over the last 12 months, before mortgage payments and maintenance costs have been deducted. Of this, figure rental income makes up £8,259 while the average capital gain amounts to £12,819. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Labour Rent Cap Fears Halt Buy-To-Lets

Many landlords have halted plans to invest further in buy-to-let property ahead of May’s general election, amid concerns that a change in Government could lead to rent controls. Fears over the introduction of rent capping under a Labour government have stalled the private housing rental market, exacerbating Britain’s chronic housing supply shortage. A study of more than 500 landlords revealed that 40pc won’t expand their property empire with the election looming, and 26pc were anxious that a Labour win could knock house prices. Read more on Yahoo news.

Rents: Regulation _ Parliamentary Written Answer

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals giving local authorities powers to implement rent controls.

Brandon Lewis: No. The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that private sector rents have actually fallen in real terms across England since 2010 (rents up 10.6 per cent from May 2010 to December 2014, compared to CPI inflation of 12.1 per cent). Indeed, regulated social rents have risen faster in recent years; average weekly rents rose by 25.4 per cent from 2008-09 to 2012-13 in the social rented sector, compared to 6.5 per cent in the private rented sector (DCLG, English Housing Survey: Headline Report, February 2014, p.19). The historical evidence is clear that rent controls resulted in the size of the private rented sector shrinking from 55 per cent of households in 1939 to just 8 per cent in the late 1980s. State-imposed price ceilings meant that many landlords could not afford to improve or maintain their homes, leading to worst conditions for tenants. Ultimately, the reduction in supply from such controls would push up rents and reduce choice for tenants. Read more on the Parliament website.