London mayor calls for rent controls

London mayor Sadiq Khan has repeated his call to the government to grant him powers to freeze private rents in London, as the United Kingdom braces itself for a cost of living crisis, with many everyday costs and household bills facing steep rises.

London property prices are much higher than elsewhere in the country, with a knock-on effect for the rental sector. The Guardian newspaper reported that the average rental price for a one-bedroom home in London was more than that of a three-bedroom property in every other region of England.

The proportion of Londoners living in private rented accommodation has more than doubled since 1990, and as long ago as 2019, Khan asked to be granted the same powers that exist in New York and Berlin, to help keep rents under control.

"I think we've got to recognize that London is different to the rest of the country in terms of housing need," Khan, who was elected mayor in 2016, said before his re-election in 2021, adding that one of the effects of the pandemic had been for people to move out of London, driving up rental prices in other parts of the country as well.

Analysis carried out by the mayor's office in conjunction with property company Savills has calculated that a two-year rent freeze would shield tenants from estimated increases of 881 pounds ($1159) in the first year and more than two thousand pounds in the second year.

His latest call comes shortly before a rise in national insurance contributions comes in, and fuel bills will rise for millions of people because of changes to the energy price cap, adding to financial strain.

"Private renters make up nearly a third of everyone living in the capital and they are set to be hit by a devastating combination of price and bill rises. Too often the needs of private renters are ignored by both landlords and the government," said Khan.

"Rising fuel and energy costs, which will hit renters in energy-inefficient homes the hardest, are already causing anxiety and stress, with a big rise in the energy price cap due next month."

The rental sector industry group has long opposed his plan, and before last year's London mayoral election, Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said controlling private renting would be "a disaster for London" with tenants "actually paying higher rents than leaving them to market forces.

"The story of rent controls wherever they have been introduced is that they exacerbate an already serious shortage of available homes," he continued.

"Rather than calling for things he cannot deliver, the mayor should focus on using the powers he already has to boost the supply of available housing, including for private rent."