Sadiq Khan’s proposals for rent control

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On the 19th of July 2019, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has published a report setting out how the private rented sector in London should be transformed to give renters open-ended tenancies and to create powers to bring rents down.  Khan hopes to get Government backing for his proposals.

The Mayor is calling for powers to establish a universal register of landlords and rents, which a new London Private Rent Commission - with renters on its board - would use to:

• Design an effective system of rent control, including its own role in implementing, monitoring, and enforcing the new approach
• Set out how existing rents should be gradually reduced and their subsequent levels limited within and between tenancies
• Recommend incentives to encourage investment in new and existing rental housing supply

As well as the above, the Mayor is calling for interim powers to limit rent increases within and between tenancies whilst the full system of rent control is being implemented.

Here is our position on Mr Khan’s proposals:

Rent controls do not work, they hit hardest those that they are designed to help, the Mayor of London has failed to learn the lessons of history.

The last time rent controls existed in this country, the private rented sector (PRS) shrunk to the lowest levels ever recorded.

At a time when demand for PRS homes massively outstrips supply, rent controls will cause the sector to shrink.

In turn, this means professional landlords will only take the very best tenants, and the vulnerable and low-income people that rent controls are designed to help, will be forced into the hands of rogue and criminal operators, who may exploit them.

The report also outlines detailed recommendations, developed with a wide range of stakeholders, which set out how the law on tenancies should be overhauled. These include:

• Introducing open-ended tenancies;
• Ending ‘no fault’ evictions by removing 'section 21';
• Scrapping break clauses in tenancy agreements;
• Giving all renters and landlords access to better support and dispute resolution services; and
• Increasing landlord-to-tenant notice periods to four months; 

Press Contact:

Miss. Claire White
W. Why Media
E. claire@whymedia.com

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