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Bristol to lead nationwide effort to bring in rent controls for PRS

Local housing chief is to lobby Ministers to be given rent control powers, and wants to connect up liked-minded cities across the UK.

Nigel Lewis

bristol rent controls

Bristol’s housing chief hopes to get more cities around the UK to back rent controls as it attempts to become the first authority to force restrictions on landlords.

tom renard bristol rent controlsTom Renhard, cabinet member for housing and communities, says the council wants to work with stakeholders, campaigners and renters to build a viable local framework for rent control before proposals are taken to central government.

The concept of a living rent is on the agenda at the upcoming online renters’ summit, he tells The Bristol Cable:  “We are bringing together renters and stakeholders to discuss what a living rent for Bristol looks like, so we can outline our plans in detail to the Secretary of State.”

Adds Renhard: “We need to have that conversation as a city and then get core cities to support us.”

The summit – planned for 2nd March – wants views on rent controls as well as the council’s enforcement powers, after rents increased in Bristol by 8.4% in the year to September 2021, more than any other major UK city.

Capping rents

Renhard says that he doesn’t believe capping rents would stop landlords from being able to properly maintain their properties. “We know there are some good landlords out there, but there are a lot of terrible ones. Some [landlords] aren’t doing the repairs even now, when rents are going up. If you can’t afford to upkeep a home, then why are you renting it out? People deserve to live in a home that’s fit for human habitation.”

The National Residential Landlords Association fears landlords may withdraw from the market if they are stripped of their ability to increase rents, and that maintenance would be harder with tighter budgets.

A spokesman says: “Government intervention through the use of price-setting mechanisms risks impeding businesses’ ability to deliver goods and services. Introducing rent controls to the private-rented sector would have a hugely negative impact on the availability of good quality housing.”

February 18, 2022

One comment

  1. It isnt going to be difficult getting renter reform support from places such as the ‘renters’ summit’ Wouldn’t it be more productive if Tom Renhard put his efforts into highlighting the cost of renting is caused by the lack of supply? We all know there is a chronic shortage of affordable housing driving prices up both cost of buying and renting.

    Rent control has proven not to work which is why it was scrapped along with security of tenure in the 1980’s to open up the market for the sale of council stock and bring in private landlord’s to supply the housing stock. Bringing in rent control now will risks the reverse effect – diminishing the supply of housing by the private landlords. Not a big problem and to many welcome if the gap is to be filled with new stocks of housing to create a sustainable supply and demand balance for both renters and buyers. Private landlords in the longer term will then be controlled by the market forces that will set standards and keep rents affordable.

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