A London council is telling letting agents not to start bidding wars between rival private renters.

Southwark’s Labour council says it’s writing to agents to end what it calls their “exploitative” practice.

The council claims that the average monthly private rent in Southwark was £2,298 in October 2024, compared to £2,172 across London and £1,307 across Great Britain.

A motion calling for an immediate ban to bidding wars was passed by the council, which had been lobbied by the rental activist group Acorn.

A spokesperson from the group told local media: “More work needs to be done to address renting affordability in Southwark. Until the Renters’ Rights Bill is passed, predatory letting agents will continue to increase rents as much as possible, pricing more people out of their homes.”

A Labour councillor, Sam Foster, told the council: “Exploitative bidding wars are worsening London’s housing crisis and it’s time for them to be banned.

“The broken housing market has been stacked against renters for a long time and I’m proud that Southwark is standing up for private renters and working with renters’ rights groups like Acorn to do so.”

The government claims that it will be able to outlaw so-called bidding wars through measures forming part of the Renters Rights Bill, currently going through the Commons.