“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

Rental price and average salary tracker – April 2026

Mixed Rental Trends Emerge Across UK as Regional Price Gaps Widen Scotland recorded one of the strongest monthly increases, with average rents rising from £1,123 to £1,167 (+3.9% month-on-month), reinforcing continued upward pressure in the Scottish rental market. Northern Ireland also saw significant growth, with rents increasing from £887 to £920 (+3.7%), alongside a fall…
Read More
Breaking News

Seller over-expectation still impacting market

Home sellers still overpricing as just two regions see realistic price expectations The latest internal data analysis from House Buyer Bureau has found that just two regions, London and the South East, are currently seeing seller expectations align with market reality, whilst the rest of the country continues to price above market value, contributing to…
Read More
Breaking News

Fledgling homeowners cut costs by taking on fixer-uppers to achieve dream home

66% of first-time buyers bought a cheaper home because it needed DIY or renovation work done Many choosing a ‘fixer-upper’ were able to buy in their preferred location, add value and put their stamp on it DIY almost mandatory among first-time buyers, with 93% completing at least one project since moving in But three quarters…
Read More
Breaking News

House Price Index for April 2026 – Thoughts from the Indutry

The latest Halifax House Price Index for April 2026 shows that: – On a monthly basis, house prices remained largely static, down by just -0.1% between March and April 2026. Annually, house prices were up 0.4%, albeit this rate of annual growth had slowed from 0.8% the previous month. As a result, the average house…
Read More
Breaking News

House prices remained broadly stable in April

• House prices edged down -0.1% in April, following a -0.5% fall in March • Average property price now £299,313, compared with £299,609 in March • Annual growth slowed to +0.4%, from +0.8% in March • Northern Ireland continues to record the strongest annual growth at +7.6%   Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said:…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 7/5/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The Hidden Economics of AI Agents: Why Businesses May Spend More Than They Ever Did on SaaS AI agents are rapidly being positioned as the next evolution of enterprise software. The problem is that many companies are still evaluating them through a SaaS lens…
Read More