A charity claims that since Labour won the 2024 General Election, rents in the UK have risen an average of nearly 8% or almost £1,200 a year.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) says this is despite rent rises slowing significantly in recent months.

And it hints that it may call for rent controls in the near future.

Its new research claims that while rental inflation has slowed, a long term affordability crisis means many tenants pay an unacceptably high proportion of their income in rent.

The report says before rent deregulation in the 1970s, private renters typically paid 11% of household income on rent. 

And it adds that since deregulation, the shift to open market rents means a higher level relative to incomes.

So today that figure is some 34%. And in London it’s far more at 46%.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that rents will now continue rising faster than consumer inflation until 2030. 

While this will track anticipated pay rises, it implicitly means increases in tenants’ wages will be spent on rent, rather than contributing to an increase in their standard of living. 

JRF is currently examining how the government could ease pressures on tenants – including possible rent controls – and will produce an interim report next month.