Rent controls unnecessary and ineffective

With new figures showing private rents are falling we have warned the Government that not only do rent controls not work – they are not necessary.

With Andy Burnham vowing to tackle the cost-of-living crisis following the formation of the new Government, the NRLA has pointed out that new rental data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows rent a significant slowing of rent increases.

The figures show average private sector rents increased by just 3.3% in the year to June 2026.

Growing speculation

 NRLA chief policy office Chris Norris said: “At a time when there is growing speculation about the introduction of rent controls, today’s figures show that rent increases continue to slow significantly.

“The annual rate of rental growth has fallen by almost two thirds since the current Housing Secretary warned that rent controls would hurt tenants. At the same time, average earnings continue to grow faster than rents.

“As the reappointed Housing Minister has recognised, the evidence from the UK and overseas is clear: rent controls reduce the supply of homes to rent and ultimately leave tenants worse off. It would further undermine the Government’s welcome mission to end rough sleeping as access to the sector became harder for those who most need it.”

Labour has been consistent in its messaging that rent controls do not work, and can serve to harm those they are designed to help.

Insufficient evidence

In 2024, then-Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner noted: “Rent controls restrict housing supply, which does not help anyone,” with housing minister Matthew Pennycook telling the House of Commons in April this year: “There is sufficient international evidence from countries such as Sweden and Germany, and from individual cities such as San Francisco, as well as the recent Scottish experience, to attest to the potential detrimental impacts of rent controls on tenants.”

In its recent report on conditions in the private rented sector the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee concluded that it was “not currently convinced that stricter measures to stabilise rents would be a proportionate step” due to the “potential consequences this could have on the supply of affordable properties."