“Wild West” rental market

“Wild West” was how the London rented homes market was described during a five way debate at the London’s Guildhall on tuesday evening staged by the Evening Standard. Landlords were accused in a heated debate of cheating the public who were forced to pay inflated  rents due to  the capital’s housing shortage.

The five in the debate  are all candidates in the up and coming General Election Lynne Featherstone, Grant Shapps, Chuka Umunna, Natalie Bennett and Mark Reckless.

Each stood their ground during the debate, snippets taken from a report just yesterday is as follows, Labour’s Chuka Umunna said his party would be toughest on bad landlords, Conservative chairman Grant Shapps pointed the finger at the last labour government for housing waiting list doubling, which have now fallen under the Tories, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett stated “We need to defend social housing”, Ukip’s Mark Reckless said his Kent constituents should not have to pay towards homes for Londoners  and Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone accused Boris Johnson of failing to release public land for housing.

 

 

 

 

 

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

Breaking Property News 9/4/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Why Rightmove is making all the wrong moves   In a world reshaped by AI, incumbency is no longer protection. It is exposure. Thought Leadership By Andrew Stanton, CEO Proptech-PR Rightmove has long been the unassailable giant of UK property portals—a category-defining platform that, for years, operated…
Read More
Breaking News

Six property firms expelled from redress scheme

Six property businesses have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman after failing to pay compensation awards. The expulsions followed a review by the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee, which agreed that each firm should be removed for breaching their membership obligations by not complying with Ombudsman decisions. The Property Ombudsman, which provides impartial dispute resolution for…
Read More
Home and Living

Best garden renovations to increase property value this spring

With spring fast approaching and warmer weather finally in sight, now is the perfect time to step outside and give your garden the well-deserved TLC and refresh it needs after such a wet and dreary start to the year. Whether it’s refreshing planting beds, updating patio areas or rethinking your layout, investing time into your…
Read More
Breaking News

Prime London property market stays firm

The latest Prime London Demand Index by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals that, despite broad economic uncertainty, buyer demand across London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods avoided a decline during the first quarter of 2026, with the likes of Chelsea, Battersea, Highgate, and Belgravia seeing quarterly demand increases of above 5%. The Prime…
Read More
Breaking News

More first-time buyers enter the market in 2026

The latest research by Yopa has revealed that first-time buyer demand has strengthened during the first quarter of 2026, despite the supply of homes offering the benefit of a buying scheme remaining limited. Yopa analysed first-time buyer demand based on the proportion of homes listed under buying schemes* that have already sold subject to contract…
Read More
Breaking News

Fall-throughs hit housing market for £1bn annually

The latest Fall-Through Index by the House Buyer Bureau has revealed that the number of fall-throughs in the UK fell by -25% in the final quarter of 2025, but the estimated total cost incurred still stood at £218.3m in those three months alone, pushing the total cost for the year to over £1bn. House Buyer…
Read More