London Mayoral elections in May

The EU referendum planned for the 23rd June is really taking the limelight at present what with David Cameron pushing for “remain” since his return  from Brussels In February, Boris Johnson putting his weight behind the “leave” campaign, the resignation of John Longworth Head of The British Chambers of Commerce following his fallout over “Brexit” and only just yesterday we had the “Eurosceptics” attack on Mark  Carney Governor of the Bank of England for his pro EU comments in the Brexit debate.

There is another important vote taking place before the EU refrendum and that is on the 5th May when Londoners will elect a new Mayor and the 25 members of the London Assembly.

Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon is putting forward some worthwhile policies which deal with some of the problems facing the large population of “private renters” in London.

Ms Pidgeon said in a recent report that she would encourage landlords to offer longer tenancies if elected,  she hoped this would provide renters with both stability and protection from rent hikes, looking to increase them from the present 6 months to up to 5 years.

The LibDem hopeful has also pledged to build 200,000 new homes to increase supply and “push down” rents, last month she outlined proposalsto give tenants first refusal on buying their home should the landlord decide to sell it during their tenancy.

In a recent visit to an affordable housing development site Ms Pidgeon was reported as saying: “By making sure rogue landlords are prosecuted, enforcing housing standards and promoting longer tenancies of 3 to 5 years to give tenants security we can make an real impact on improving the lives of people who choose to rent.”

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Housing Insight Report: June 2026

June’s housing market remained active, but buyers and renters continued to show caution. Buyer registrations dipped, while sales agreed remained broadly stable. In lettings, demand continued to outstrip supply, with nine applicants per available property. The average number of new prospective buyers registered per member branch dipped during June 2026, with an average of 55.…
Read More
Breaking News

Private rent and house prices, UK: August 2026

Main points Average UK monthly private rent increased by 3.7%, to £1,393, in the 12 months to July 2026 (provisional estimate); this annual growth rate is up from 3.3% in the 12 months to June 2026. Average rents increased to £1,451 (3.8%) in England, £843 (4.5%) in Wales, and £1,016 (1.7%) in Scotland, in the…
Read More
Breaking News

Scrapping Stamp Duty could unlock 300,000 extra home moves a year

Economic growth in key regions, such as around Cambridge and the ‘tech corridor’ being held back by stagnant housing market. Rathbones argues that a more mobile housing market could help unlock part of the UK’s £5.5 trillion housing wealth.   Reforming Britain’s property tax system could unlock more than 300,000 additional housing transactions each year…
Read More
new build home fronts
Breaking News

New-build property across Great Britain increased in price

The average house price for a new-build property across Great Britain increased to £501,658 in July 2026. The West Midlands recorded the largest average price increase, with the average new-build house price rising to £418,281 in July 2026. Yorkshire and Humberside recorded the smallest average increase, with the average house price rising to £347,846 in…
Read More
Breaking News

Where London leavers are paying a premium for green space

New research from UK Property Development (UKPD shows that Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire command the highest green space premiums among London’s commuter counties, with homebuyers paying a premium of up to 15.3% to live within a stone’s throw of public green space.   UKPD has compared the average asking price of properties for sale within…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 18/8/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Removing inefficiency that comes from humans having to understand where every piece of information lives   Thought Leadership by Fredérick Wakim, Founder of ImmoAdmin “For most of the software era, making a property management platform better meant adding something to it. Another dashboard. Another…
Read More