The Green Party has announced plans for sweeping rent controls, including a three-year emergency cap on private rent increases, prompting a warning from Propertymark that the measures could drive landlords out of the market.
Party leader Zack Polanski outlined the proposals at the Greens’ conference in Brighton today (2 October), calling for annual rent increases to be limited to inflation, wage growth or 2% – whichever is lowest. The proposals would significantly restrict landlords’ ability to raise rents, even where their costs are increasing or local market rents are rising more quickly.
Fair rents guarantee planned
Polanski said the party wanted to end sudden rent increases and prevent landlords from using higher rents as a means of forcing tenants out of their homes. He also announced plans for a national fair rents guarantee, which he claimed would keep rents affordable in the long term.
The Green leader criticised Labour’s approach to rental reform, arguing that its existing measures do not go far enough to address the pressures facing private tenants. He accused ministers of dismissing rent controls and suggested that the government would not introduce stronger protections unless it came under pressure to do so.
Polanski also called for an end to what he described as the leasehold trap and urged the government to increase council housebuilding substantially.
Propertymark warns rent caps could backfire
Propertymark has challenged the proposals, warning that rent controls risk reducing investment and worsening the shortage of rental properties. Timothy Douglas, the professional body’s head of policy and campaigns, said: “Tenants are facing genuine affordability pressures but rent caps do not address the underlying shortage of homes or the rising costs of providing and maintaining them.
“If policymakers want to make renting more affordable in the long term, the priority must be increasing housing supply and creating the conditions for responsible investment in the private rented sector.
“Propertymark has consistently warned against rent controls because they can have unintended consequences. In Scotland, our members have reported rent increases between tenancies, stalled investment and landlords leaving the market following temporary rent caps. Evidence from rent-control schemes internationally also suggests they can reduce investment and the supply of rental homes.
“Any policy to support tenants must therefore consider both the immediate impact on renters and the longer-term need to maintain and increase the supply of homes in an already constrained market.”
The Greens have yet to set out the full details of how their proposed national fair rents guarantee would operate or how the three-year cap would be enforced.
