Landlords slam Mayor Sadiq’s summit before it’s even started

Landlords say they're disappointed Sadiq Kahn thinks he can solve challenges without any input from those who actually provide the homes.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has slammed Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s plans to hold a summit on the private rented sector.

ben beadle NRLA
Ben Beadle, CEO, NRLA

In a blistering statement, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, says: “If the Mayor wants to address the cost pressures faced by households across London, he needs to focus on boosting the number of homes available.

“Anything else would merely be tinkering with the symptoms of the challenges in the rental market, without tackling the root cause of them.”

This morning the London Mayor called for an emergency private renting summit as he says nearly half of London renters could default on their rent.

STRUGGLE

According to Khan, some 40% of Londoners think they will struggle to meet rent payments in the next six months.

London average rental prices are now nearly £2500 a month – more than double some other parts of the UK.

Khan wants to freeze rents in London to “urgently protect renters increasingly at risk of losing their homes”.

The Mayor has also revealed today that the average advertised London rent has hit £2343 a month – more than double other parts of the country.

TRIPLE WHAMMY

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says: “London’s private renters are facing a triple whammy with rising rents, bills, and the cost of household essentials putting a major strain on their finances. Ministers must take this crisis seriously and act now.

Our demands to ministers are simple: implement your long-promised renters reform legislation.”

“Our demands to ministers are simple: implement your long-promised renters reform legislation and take action now to make rents more affordable for Londoners, using all powers at the government’s disposal.

Alicia Kennedy, Director of Generation Rent, says: “The government can alleviate rising living costs for renters immediately with a freeze on rents on existing tenancies and suspension of Section 21 evictions so landlords can’t evict simply to re-let at a higher rent.”

Advice for Renters’, Head of Policy, Jacky Peacock OBE, says: “Private renters are among the hardest hit as the cost-of-living crisis deepens. Renters were promised a reform of the sector in December 2019.  Three years’ later, they are still waiting.”

The solutions are simple – increasing housing benefit.”

And Kiran Ramchandani, Crisis Director of Policy and External Affairs, adds: “The solutions are simple – increasing housing benefit so it covers the cheapest third of rents will ensure that people can afford to keep their homes this winter.

“We need to see no-fault evictions banned for good so that no one is uprooted from their home without reason.”

FIGHTING FOR LANDLORDS

But fighting for landlords, Beadle says: “It is disappointing in the extreme that the Mayor of London feels he can solve the challenges faced in the capital’s rental market without any input from those who actually provide the homes.

The stark reality is that the supply of such homes is falling.”

“The stark and simple reality is that whilst the demand for private rented housing in London continues to increase, the supply of such homes is falling.

“This is a direct consequence of Government policy aimed at shrinking the size of the sector, along with rhetoric from the Mayor that suggests private landlords are simply a problem to be managed.”


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