‘Devastating’: Generation Rent calls for English rent freeze
Lobby group ups the ante after Conservative MP comes under fire for saying extraordinary economic circumstances justify freeze.
Baroness Alicia Kennedy, director of Generation Rent, has called for a rent freeze across England and measures to stop no fault evictions as the cost-of living crisis spirals.
The Labour Peer (pictured right) says: “Private renters are sat risk of unaffordable rent rise – 9% have been asked to pay more than £100 extra per month in the past year.
“Without a rent freeze and measures to stop no-fault evictions, people will face devastating decisions over paying rent or staying warm this winter, and many of them will lose their home.”
EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES
The Labour peer joins calls from Dover & Deal Tory MP Natalie Elphike who says that the extraordinary economic circumstances justify a rent freeze.
Elphicke (pictured left) launched a campaign via the Renters Reform Coalition earlier this week calling for a freeze after having previously argued the case in an article on Conservative Home.
But the statistics used in that article to justify a freeze have come under fierce criticism from Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
“I should be grateful if you could outline how this would help address the supply crisis that tenants now face,” he says.
In an open letter to Elphicke, Beadle (pictured right) adds: “One of your central arguments is a call for a two-year rent freeze in the private rented sector. I should be grateful if you could outline how this would help address the supply crisis that tenants now face.
“Research for the NRLA has found that in Q2 2022, 23% of private landlords in England and Wales said they planned to cut the number of properties they let over the next 12 months.
“This was up from 20% the year before. In contrast, just 14% said they planned to increase the number of properties they let, unchanged since the same point last year and down 4 points since Q1 2022.”
Earlier this year the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, launched a consultation on a cap on social housing rent increases with options at 3%, 5% and 7%.
My notes on this.
They doing it again. Look what happened in Covid calling for Rent Holiday & no evictions etc.
We people that actually rent houses out, knew Landlords would be selling in their droves when they could after hearing stuff like this & tenants would then be worse off-And that’s what happened.
Remaining Landlords now have mega demand & can charge what they like.
These people in power who change sensibility make it better for that current tenant temporarily, but the next 100,000 looking for a house or move cannot do so, as no Landlord takes them or if they can, super expensive rents. It’s getting a case where only the well paid can afford to rent. All Govt & Council & Shelter & Generation Rent making.
Shelter will applaud this & say it is working-As above for the current tenant. I’d say it works more for the Landlord & Letting Agent that slugs it out, as when the freeze or ban over, we all know rents shoot up massively as more demand comes. Letting Agents are loving the higher commission from higher rents. And why shouldn’t they.
And us Landlords then end up taking it out of the innocent tenants by increasing the rents at every opportunity as we just don’t know when the next attack is coming. And we think we got a rent freeze coming again, we think Gees, best get some higher rent in now even though I was happy to leave at that existing rent to keep tenant happy.
And before Generation rent shoot me down, I want rents to reduce so my tenants can have a choice to move, so I can sell my ruddy houses.