According to new Government figures published in the housing survey, landlords in the private sector put up rents by 8.2% last year. The increase in London was even higher, with rents going up by 8.4%. Unfortunately, Consumer Price Index inflation fell to less than 0.5%, so rent rises will affect tenants.
A survey published by Survation at the beginning of this year revealed that an overwhelming majority of people are in favour of rent controls in the private sector. Less than 10% of those surveyed said they were against the idea of rent caps in the private sector whereas 59% were strongly in favour of the idea.
Labour Says No, Green Party Says Yes
Labour wants to introduce limits on future rent rises, but the Conservatives, Lib-Dems and UKIP don’t advocate rent controls at all. The Green Party supports rent controls and has been campaigning for them to be introduced in London for some time.
“We give our tenants some of the weakest protections in Europe, we should copy the smart rent controls and security enjoyed by tenants in countries like France and Germany where rent can’t rise faster than inflation guaranteeing fairness and predictability for tenants and landlords,” said Green Party London Assembly member, Darren Johnson.
RLA Against Rent Caps
The Residential Landlords Association is against rent controls in any form. They believe that the introduction of rent controls will damage the private rental sector and drive landlords away. They also point out the majority of landlords intend on freezing rents in 2015.
