Rents Rocket but Capping Is Not the Answer

Rents in London are rocketing due to a squeeze on the private rental market that has dramatically reduced the supply of homes. According to property website Home.co.uk, there were just 18,700 newly advertised properties to let in Greater London last month, compared to 28,800 in June 2017 - a drop of 35% in the number of rental properties over two years. With demand for rented accommodation in the capital still strong, this decline in supply has led to a marked increase in rents. Read more on the HomeUK website.

https://www.home.co.uk/company/press/london_rents_rocket_but_capping_is_not_the_answer.htm

Generation Rent Demands Affordable Housing

When London's Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, called for "genuinely affordable homes" in his election manifesto, you would be forgiven for thinking he was going to tackle the housing crisis. But now Khan says Londoners will have to wait two or three years for his "affordable" housing because of Boris Johnson's spending legacy. But playing the blame game doesn't help young people cover the rent. There is an acute housing crisis, while luxury flats and new buildings are going up everywhere. So why can't new council houses be started now? In the private sector landlords need to be controlled. A rent cap could help stop them charging rip-off prices, making housing actually affordable to young people. Read more on the Socialist website.

Make Renting Better By Stabilising Rents

In the run-up to the London elections, Shelter published new research showing that over half of renters in the capital are struggling to pay the rent. And while the housing crisis is particularly acute in London, private renters across the country are struggling to make ends meet. On average they spend 43%of their household income on rent.  A growing number of people are unable to save, driven into debt or forced to cut back on essentials. Ultimately, more and more private renters are being made homeless. Some groups are arguing that we should drastically cut rents with a rent cap. But although Shelter is campaigning for rent reform, we don’t support the imposition of a hard cap like this. Read more on the Shelter blog.

Young Families Priced Out Of Rental Markets In Two-Thirds Of The UK

Having a child while living in rental accommodation has become unaffordable for young families in two-thirds of the UK.  Using the average regional full-time wage for workers in their 20s and 30s and the cost of privately renting a two-bed home in the area, the Guardian, in conjunction with Generation Rent, found that young couples would have to spend more than 30% of one full-time earner’s wage to keep a roof over their head in 66% of the country. There is no official definition of what a family can afford in the UK, but housing charity Shelter says it amounts to 33% of income, while the National Housing Federation says it is 25%. he findings have renewed calls from MPs and housing campaigners for rent caps to be reintroduced after being abandoned more than 20 years ago. Read more on the Guardian website.

Corbyn To Tackle Housing Crisis With Rent Caps, Council Homes and End To 'Social Cleansing'

Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to tackle Britain’s housing crisis with new moves to cap private rent levels, build more council housing and to end ‘social cleansing’ caused by Tory benefit caps and housing sell-offs. The Labour leader accused the Government of ‘social cleansing’ his constituency and other areas of the capital, claiming its benefit curbs and plans to force housing associations to sell off stock were forcing the poorest away from the communities they grew up in. Corbyn also said that his new plans would help persuade Tory voters that they had a ‘self interest’ in voting to end a system where many young people had to live at home into the 30s. He also hit out at rising house prices, warning they were not ‘a good thing’ and declaring that it was ‘nonsense’ to pretend that homes values were linked to sustainable economic growth.  Read more on the Huffington Post 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.

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.

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.

Mansion Tax: Most Tory Supporters Prefer Labour's Housing Policy

With the UK housing market facing its biggest crisis of the last 100 years, it's no surprise that housing has soared as one of the topics voters are most concerned about. With an election looming, the Conservative Party should take notice when its own supporters side with the Opposition when it comes to these two critical issues.

1.       Tory supporters WANT a mansion tax – 49% of Tories support the Mansion Tax

2.       Tory supporters are in favour of rent capping – 60% of Tories are in favour of Rent Capping

Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Shapps Rules Out Private Rents Cap

Housing minister Grant Shapps has ruled out a private rents 'cap' following a report by homelessness charity Shelter which has revealed that over half of England is "unaffordable". Mr Shapps ruled out capping private rents and said the only way to solve the crisis was to build more homes. He told BBC Radio 4: "On this private rented sector issue a lot of people say why don't you cap rents? I'm convinced that's a bad thing to do. When rents were capped the private rented sector shrunk from over half of all housing to just 8% by the time the caps were released. So I don't think that's the answer. But building more homes is." He said that at least 200,000 new homes a year were possible from the Government's housing reforms. He said plans to revitalise the Right to Buy and hand over Government land to developers would create 200,000 homes. He also said reforming the planning system would make it easer to get more homes built. Read more on the BBC website.