Rent controls..good or bad?
Private rents are becoming increasingly more expensive across the UK, that is a statement of fact, would the introduction of rent controls solve the problem though?
Figures recently released by the Office for National Statistics suggest that rents paid to private landlords in the UK have increased by 2.5 per cent over the last year, this rise was more marked in London where rents have risen by 3.8 per cent year-on-year
According to new calculations by GLA Conservative Andrew Boff, the introduction of rent controls would take money out of the private rental sector and lead to 84,228 less homes available in England in the next ten years, in London that figure would be 51,205 less homes.
GLA Conservatives housing spokesman, Andrew Boff reportedly said: “Housing experts recently gave evidence to a committee at City Hall and demolished the idea of rent controls. It may sound like a popular policy but the experts exposed that it is economically illiterate.
“Nobody wants to see high rents but these controls will result in less of an incentive to build new homes for the private sector, would reduce supply and may have the unintended consequences of raising rents to the imposed limit.
“Landlords are average people buying these homes from their savings, they are not evil corporations. According to my calculations tens of thousands of homes will disappear from the private rented sector if this folly goes ahead.”
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Private rent and house prices, UK: July 2026
