May

LETTER: Sadiq Khan begs Boris to freeze rents in London for two years

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has repeated calls to be handed rent control powers in the capital to prevent a potential homelessness crisis.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, he says tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech is an opportunity to commit to the strategy, adding: “I have repeatedly asked for the powers to design and implement a system of rent control for London which would help to reduce the financial pressure on renters, without choking off supply.”

Although currently in the US on a tourism boosting trip and promising “major announcements”, Khan cites the Homelet rental index for March 2022 which shows that renters in London now spend 34% of their income on rent.

Freeze

He wants the government to implement an immediate two-year rent freeze to relieve the pressure on already-stretched renters, in a bid to save Londoners an average of almost £3,000.

Khan also reiterates his plea for more powers to push property licensing and pledges his support for the government’s commitment to ending section 21, as well as introducing open-ended tenancies and creating a public national landlord register.

“However, affordability is clearly the most urgent issue facing the majority of renters, and currently the government remains silent on this issue,” he adds.

“I am asking you to take the action necessary to prevent a major crisis now and to work with me to build a better London for everyone.”

The NRLA has previously labelled rent controls a potential disaster for London as they would mean tenants actually paying higher rents than leaving them to market forces. Rent controls were recently scrapped in the Catalan region of Spain after they failed to make housing more affordable.

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