The leader of the Generation Rent activist group says that the shortage of homes to rent means no private sector tenant is safe.

Addressing a conference called by London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan this week, Baroness Alicia Kennedy – director of Generation Rent – said: “When rents are rising on new tenancies, no private renter is safe. It is too easy for your landlord to demand a higher rent when they know they can evict you and re-let to someone else who is willing to pay it. People who don’t want to move are being priced out of their homes and forced to compete in this hellish market. And the cost of living crisis is making it even worse.

“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.”

Also at the conference was the head of policy for the Advice for Renters organisation, Jacky Peacock. She said: “Private renters are among the hardest hit as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.  Most are struggling to pay unaffordable rents for properties that are often in poor condition and hard to heat. 

“They face the stark choice of huge energy bills or a cold home with all the health risks this entails. Renters were promised a reform of the sector in December 2019.  Three years’ later, they are still waiting. The Government really must take action now.”

Khan’s conference had no representatives of landlords or lettings agencies – they were not invited – but the event heard various claims of how badly off London was in comparison to other parts of the UK, or even the world. 

Khan told the event that the average advertised London rent was £2,343 a month – a figure he took from Rightmove – while he claimed this was £1,000 more than the average advertised rent in the South West, £1,300 more than in the East Midlands, and £1,564 more than in the North East.

He cited examples of how, for £2,500 a month, you could rent a six-bedroom Grade II family home in Birmingham or a five-bedroom house in Liverpool with an electricity and gas allowance  For £1,750 a month, you could rent a five-bedroom detached house in Wolverhampton, while in Burnley a three-bedroom terrace house is just £750 a month.

He even claimed that for £454 less than the monthly average advertised London rent, you could move to Cyprus and rent a five-bedroom villa with a sauna, private pool, and two-car garage.

Khan has long advocated getting the power to institute a rent freeze and he claims that over two years this would save private renters an average of £2,988. 

“The fact that 40 per cent of Londoners think that they will struggle to make their rent payments in the next six months shows the scale of the housing crisis in London” explains the Mayor.

“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.

“There is no time to waste so we have come together today to speak with one voice. 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.

“As we continue working to build a better, fairer London for everyone, it’s vital that we stand up for renters in our city and find common ground on the action that needs to be taken to support them through the cost of living crisis, pay their rent and keep their homes.”