Angela Rayner rules out rent controls

The newly appointed housing secretary took to the BBC Breakfast sofa this morning to state firmly that this Government does not believe rent controls are the answer to the cost of living crisis.

Following feverish press speculation after Andy Burnham’s appointment as Prime Minister on Monday, Rayner’s comments set out a clear position.

She said: “We won’t be looking at rent controls… We’ve seen what’s happened in areas like Scotland, it hasn’t necessarily brought rents down.”

Stabilising the market

She went on to reiterate the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act – which she and housing ministers Matthew Pennycook and Baroness Taylor steered through Parliament last year – and the new rules around rental costs which the Act brings in.

“The work we’ve done to make sure that landlords are giving people fair rents, people can challenge rent hikes at Tribunal now, making sure that people are not being in bidding wars… is having an impact on the market which is more favourable to renters and I think that’s a better way of stablising the rental market.”

Amid speculation following previous comments the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, had made about rent freezes as mayor of Greater Manchester, she said: "Three years ago, Andy called for [rent freezes] because there was a significant crisis in the rental market.

"We implemented between then the Renters' Rights Act which is giving renters more power and control."

Her comments follow our strong commentary this week around the impact that rent controls could have on the market and supply of homes for renters.

We highlighted previous comments by ministers setting out their opposition to rent controls, and also commented on newly published official statistics which show that rents have risen at a slower rate than wages.

The NRLA will continue to press this case - read more from our chief policy officer about how we will be working with the new administration.