Tenants activists are making a last ditch appeal to Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce rent controls.
Burnham said a week ago that he was considering these as a short term measure to give what he calls “breathing space” to hard-pressed working people.
However, both the Financial Times and the I Paper said over the weekend that the Prime Minister’s team was now discounting the measure.
This has not stopped some activists.
A spokesperson for the London Renters Union says: “There is no solution to the cost of living crisis and no break with the last 40 years of economic injustice without an emergency freeze on private rents.
“The rental affordability crisis could not be more urgent, with growing numbers of us forced to cut back on food and other essentials just to afford our rent.
“Rents have risen 39% since 2020. For the poorest 20% of households who rent privately, rent now takes up two-thirds of household income.”
“Not only would a rent freeze put more than £2,000 back into the pockets of renters so we no longer need to cut back on food and other essentials, it would also save the government £2 billion on the housing benefit bill.”
And the new chief executive of the Generation Rent activist group – Holly Williamson, who until recently worked for Labour MP and new Chancellor John Healey – comments in a statement: “We wouldn’t accept paying such extortionate prices for our food shop, so why do we accept it when it comes to our homes?
“High rents are backbreaking for renters across the country. It [sic] can mean children going to school hungry, families trapped living in temporary accommodation for years, or older renters choosing between heating or eating.
“The cost of renting is like a runaway train with no driver, leaving too many renters as passengers with no control over our lives.
“With another spike in inflation looming, Andy Burnham’s government can and must act urgently, by bringing in a limit on how much landlords can hike our rents.”
