The Commons: Pressure on Labour as Greens push for Rent Controls
Ahead of the upcoming local elections in May, the Green Party have launched their campaign with a call for rent controls, demanding that local authorities be given the power to manage the amounts tenants can charge in areas where rents have become increasingly unaffordable. The Greens have called for local authorities and the national government to work together “to deliver homes people can afford to rent or buy, where people need them.” In a statement covering the launch of their campaign, the Greens argued that private renters have too often been “forced to pay over the odds for poorly maintained, leaky homes – making them expensive to rent, and expensive to run.” They have pledged that incoming Green candidates will put pressure on the Labour government to provide local authorities with the power to introduce rent controls in order to deal with the increased cost of living, whilst in Wales, where this power already has been devolved but not used, they have proposed a one year freeze on rents, sparing rents any further hikes in price “at a time when all their other bills and costs are only going up.”
These commitments to rent controls form part of the Greens new “Affordable Housing Pledge”, which also calls for more affordable housing and improvements to existing social housing. They have further called for private residential tenancy boards, and an end to no-fault evictions. Whilst the emphasis has very much been on Labour's failure to provide affordable housing, the Greens have continued to have environmentalism as part of their messaging, calling for “fairer, greener homes,” with proper insulation, and low-carbon heating systems. Green Party leader Zack Polanski has maintained that he ultimately wants to see rent control measures introduced for all rental homes, stating that he wishes to avoid a "patchwork model,” where controls apply in some areas but not in others. Whilst he acknowledged that new Green councillors will not themselves have the power to introduce such controls, they will provide "a solid voice,” calling for policies that he asserts are vital for easing the cost of housing and ending the normalization of food banks. Polanski argued that these measures would potentially save homeowners £3,000 per year, stating they “would put £18bn of purchasing power back in the pockets of people who are able to spend that on their communities rather than that money going to private landlords.”
Just how effective rent controls can be has continued to be a major source of debate both in the UK and elsewhere, with critics arguing that whilst these measures may provide relief for struggling tenants, they could seriously affect supply by making the renting out of properties completely unviable financially for landlords.
The Green Party's manifesto commitments have been described as, “fiercely anti-landlord,” whilst the Institute for Financial Studies (IFS) has argued that with “lower rents potentially increasing the demand for and reducing the supply of rental properties, other tenants could struggle to find suitable properties – and landlords could introduce much bigger rent increases when they do have the opportunity to do so.”
The IFS has also noted that there could be other unintended consequences from such controls, besides simply an impacting supply and demand, including “poorer maintenance and attempts by landlords and tenants to circumvent the regulations (e.g. via side payments).” It's likely however that such proposals might well be effective in persuading left-leaning voters to side with the Greens over Labour, in light of the Labour government's opposition to such measures.
The Labour Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, has stated that, “the Government does not support the introduction of rent controls, which we believe could make life more difficult for renters.” He further added that, “there is sufficient international evidence from countries such as Sweden and Germany, and from individual cities such as San Francisco, as well as the recent Scottish experience, to attest to the potential detrimental impacts of rent controls on tenants.” He maintained that such measures were more helpful for better-off tenants, than those who were “looking for a home or needing to move.”
Rent controls remain popular with Labour Party members however, as well as its backbench MPs. Several other high profile figures within the Party have also called for such measures, in what has been seen as evidence of increased dissatisfaction within the Labour Party over Keir Starmer's leadership. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has been amongst those pushing for rent controls, stating that they were “at the top of his list” under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, legislation which allows Mayors of combined authorities to introduce limits on rent increases in their areas. This is something that has also been echoed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who has previously been suggested as a potential rival to Starmer for Labour leader. "If you're going to get serious about tackling the cost-of-living crisis, this is something you have to look at,” Burnham had stated previously.
Nye Jones, Head of Campaigns for Generation Rent, a group campaigning for safe, secure, and affordable renting, has stated that Labour risks “an electoral backlash,” from private tenants in urban centres, traditionally a strong source of support for them, if they do not change their position on this.
The government has in the past weeks placed a strong emphasis on their upcoming Renters’ Rights Act, which comes into force in May, and which they maintain will go a long way to alleviating the pressure on renters across the country. The government states that the Act “delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting,” with it delivering an end to no-fault evictions, as well as making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against potential tenants on the basis of their receiving benefits or having children, and prohibiting landlords from asking for offers above the advertised rent. Tenants will have the right to challenge bad practices by landlords without fearing arbitrary evictions, will have greater protections should they temporarily fall into rent arrears, and to challenge unreasonable rent increases.
Homeless charities such as Shelter have welcomed the upcoming legislation, stating that it will “transform the lives of England’s 11 million private renters,” who “will benefit from a fairer renting system.” Nye Jones acknowledged this as “a vital first step in addressing the power imbalance between renters and landlords.” However, he has maintained that the soaring cost in renting remains a “glaring hole” in the new legislation. “Ministers have repeatedly cited the government’s ambitious housebuilding programme as the best way to bring rents down,” Jones argues. “However, Generation Rent’s modelling found that, even if the Government meets its target of building 1.5 million new homes, this will reduce rent inflation in England by just 1.8 percentage points.”
“If this really is a government for working people, Labour must prove it by stopping runaway rent hikes from crushing the very voters who put the government in power,” Jones added. "With Green Leader Zack Polanski enthusiastically supporting rent controls, polling shows the Greens have already taken one sixth of Labour’s support from the last election and are likely to win many traditionally Labour seats in urban areas.”
With Zack Polanski having previously stated that he is gunning for Labour voters, and that he hopes the Greens can replace Labour as the party for progressives across the UK, this may well prove an area of increasing pressure for Starmer and his government.
